Playing Catch and Throwing Strikes
by Dr.Lancaster
Summary: A series of one shots. A/U
1. Finding the way

**A/N: A series of one shots that don't follow the show's timeline completely and are A/U...ish. Please read and review!**

* * *

Scully was exhausted. Not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, spiritually. She could barely put one foot in front of the other, barely think, and yet somehow she'd made it here. She leant on the heavy wooden door, managing, only just, to knock 3 times. When Mulder opened the door, he managed to catch her with only a second to spare. Lifting her carefully into his arms, neither of them uttered a word as he kicked the door shut and walked with long strides to the bedroom. There, he placed her onto the edge of the bed and knelt to take her shoes off. Scully leant forward, wrapping his shoulders in a loose embrace as she rested heavily on him while he undressed her. He was checking her for injuries because of the blood on her clothes, though she didn't consider this at the time, as once she was in Mulder's arms, her brain just stopped it's whirring and a white static overcame her.

Soon he was lowering her into a warm bath that tinged pink. A patient's blood, Scully wanted to tell him, but words were too difficult. Mulder cleaned her tenderly, even washing her hair, as Scully lay with her eyes half open, taking nothing in.

When she was finally clean, he lifted her from the bathtub, first drying her body, then settling her on a chair to dry her hair, made difficult by her resting her forehead against his stomach. He had so many questions- he hadn't seen her in months. Now was not the time, though. Instead, he slipped one of his t-shirts over her head and carried her back to bed. It was as he tucked her in that she uttered the only word her mind could hold onto. "Mulder."

Shushing her, Mulder climbed in beside her and held her close. He felt the moment she fell asleep, her tense muscles finally relaxing.

Scully didnt know hw long she slept, only that she was woken at least once by Mulder to eat. She couldn't say what she'd eaten, and neither had said a word.

When she woke properly, she had no idea of the time or the day. It was dark outside, and all she could hear was the rhythmic breathing of Mulder beside her. Turning onto her side, Scully looked down at him in the darkness. She could barely make out his features, so she lifted a hand to trace them. She knew them almost better than her own. She knew when he awoke, for his breathing changed, became quicker. Scully continued her tracing in the dark until she was done, then pulled back only briefly to slip the t-shirt from her head.

Neither spoke as they made love, but it was slow and caring and finally Scully's missing senses began to return to her. She could feel, she could smell, she could taste. Mulder held her close, his strong arms protecting her, helping her, offering her whatever she needed. It was after, curled into his side tracing him once more, than Scully uttered the only other words she would say this visit. "I love you."

"I know." Came a gentle reply. It was all that was needed. She knew, everyone knew that Mulder loved her, that Mulder would love her forever. It was her love that she worried was more in doubt, fearful that Mulder might think she'd used him.

Mulder was still asleep when she left, one arm splayed out as though he would stay that way waiting for her return.

Usually he only appeared at birthdays or Christmas, and sometimes it was only the scent of him left behind and a gift on her desk that indicated he'd been there, but from that visit on Mulder began to appear more often. Some times Scully would merely acknowledge him with a nod or a smile, sometimes they would talk, sometimes she didn't even notice him walking a few paces behind her. Except suddenly life didn't feel quite so desperate and overwhelming any longer. She had fought so long to be seen as someone who needed no one, but now she found comfort in knowing that she would be looked after no matter what happened.

One evening at the grocery store, Scully was dismayed to find only one box of her favourite beer (Mulder's favourite, but somehow when she tasted it she always felt calmed), and it was right up the top, much too high to reach. She looked hopefully around for an employee, but the aisle was empty but for her trolley.

"…Mulder, can you please get this down for me." She called, shutting her eyes tightly. Just as she was deciding he must not be around today, he walked sheepishly around the corner.

"How did you know I was here?"

"I hoped." Scully replied, pointing up to the box. Mulder reached up to get it, holding it under one arm as Scully began pushing the trolley again. "What do you want for dinner?"

"P-"

"Not pizza."

"..Chinese?"

"Mulder! We are at a grocery store where you buy the ingredients to make things so you don't have to order take away!"

"Can I borrow your phone to look up a recipe for chinese?"

"Why can't you use your own phone?!"

"Aliens." When Scully turned to glare at him, Mulder gave a faint smile and a shrug. "I dropped it while out sasquatching."

With a sigh, Scully pushed her phone into his chest. "I sincerely hope you mean looking for big foot and not tall women."

"Tall women?" Mulder was walking a step behind, watching the sway of her hips as she walked.

"Urban dictionary, Mulder."

"Is that a store?"

Rolling her eyes, Scully pushed Mulder down the next aisle in front of her. "I will show you later."

From that day forward, a man who had been hiding in a house and a woman who had been hiding in plain sight made their way back into the world together.


	2. Weird

He had just put his coffee mug down on the desk when he heard it-Scully's laugh. Ears strained, the only other thing he could hear was the low murmur of a man's voice.

Mulder had just taken steps towards the door to get a closer listen when the door flew open, Scully momentarily surprised by how close he was.

She was followed by a young man wearing a suit who wore the unmistakable grin of someone who had just made Dana Scully laugh. "Agent Jacobs. We were just talking about you!" The man held out a hand to Mulder, who merely looked at him and then back at Scully.

Scully cringed even before he managed to get the words out, feeling Mulder bristle.

"Why?"

Agent Jacobs looked momentarily confused at this monotone question that sounded slightly threatening somehow. As he opened his mouth to reply, Scully cut in.

"Agent Jacobs wants to talk to you about crop circles, Mulder."

"Why?"

Had they been alone, Scully may have placed a hand to Mulder's chest now, which occasionally managed to bring him back for whatever silent conversation he was having with himself in his mind. As they had company, she merely raised an eyebrow at him and cocked her head slightly.

"He's interested in the crop circles that have started showing up in Idaho." Scully sighed.

"Why?"

" _Mulder."_

Both agent's heard the warning in her voice, and Agent Jacobs cut in quickly before whatever situation was beginning could gather steam. "My father was a farmer, and crop circles showed up once when I was about 9. I'm new in DC, but when I saw on the news about Idaho, I had to come and see you. I heard you're just about as interested in them as I am."

Mulder glanced at Agent Jacob and then back at Scully, raising his eyebrows slightly before he turned away from them.

Just as Scully offered an apologetic grin, Mulder switched the lights off.

"I've got a slideshow set up for Agent Scully. You can sit in."

As Agent Jacobs scrambled for a chair in the darkness, Scully rolled her eyes. "Another slideshow. Goodie." Sarcasm dripped from her words.

When the projector lit up, it showed that Mulder now wore a small smirk. "She lives for my slideshows."

* * *

Scully was sat on another bed in another hotel that was probably infested with bedbugs instead of her own _clean_ bed _again._

"And then Jacob said-"

"Who's Jacob?" Scully interrupted his speech to ask.

"Agent Jacobs." Mulder offered with a mouthful of some disgusting wrap he'd found in a vending machine. She'd opted for a bottle of water and a granola bar.

"…His name is Jacob Jacobs?" Scully asked with a laugh.

"Is there something wrong with that?

"Not at all, _Fox_ Mulder."

The corner of Mulder's mouth twitched at this, and she knew that for once she was going to get away with teasing him about his name. "As I was saying, Jacob said that the pattern in his father's crop circles have been repeated in the same area at least 2 times since then."

"And? It was in the news, Mulder. People copied it."

"That's what I thought, too. So I looked further afield. Scully, there are 10 patterns that seem to repeat over and over again. This one in Australia, this one in rural China.." Mulder began to pass photos to her, and Scully began to zone out.

She could be in her own bed in clean sheets, and yet here she was in a dirty hotel room with Mulder, and why? Because of some man made-

"What were you laughing at?"

Scully realised Mulder had stopped his excited rambling and was now looking at her curiously.

"When?"

"Just before you and Jacob walked into the office this morning. You laughed."

"I don't remember, Mulder, it was hours ago!"

Mulder shook his head just a little. "You don't laugh often enough to forget that quickly."

Scully opened her mouth to protest, but she couldn't. She knew it was true. "It was nothing important."

"What was funny, Scully?"

Scully huffed, unwilling to answer but knowing Mulder was like a dog with a bone and wouldn't let it go, and she was too tired to think of something else to tell him. "He asked me if you were really as weird as people say."

Mulder tilted his head and his eyes narrowed a little. "That's why you were laughing?"

"I wasn't laughing at his words, as such." Scully shuffled the files on the bed, beginning to make a neat stack.

"Then what?"

"I asked the same thing in my first day, and I supposed I just realised how much has changed since then, that's all."

"You don't think I'm weird anymore?"

"No, you're definitely still weird, Mulder. I just think maybe…sometimes…I'm a little weird now, too."

When there was silence, Scully glanced up to find Mulder smirking. Before he started to speak, Scully held up a hand to stop him talking. "I'm going for a shower, because we need to leave here at 6 to go and look at your crop circles."

It wasn't until the adjoining door was shut that Mulder called out, "Hey Scully!"

"What?" She called back through.

"You've always been weird to me."

Shaking her head, a smirk on her lips, Scully walked into the bathroom.


	3. Always there

Scully let out a heavy sigh as she walked through the front door. Her day had been long, and though uneventful it had taken all her energy to be at work when there was somewhere she'd much rather be. Glancing in the kitchen, the darkened room brightened for a moment, bringing a smile to her lips. Her family were cooking, waiting to surprise her when she got home. William stood stirring the cake mix with stern concentration, an oversized t-shirt stopping his clothing getting dirty just like his mother had always taught him. Sitting on the kitchen top, Emily was picking out the decorations they'd put on the cake, glancing at the man next to her every time she chose to see if he approved. She too was wearing a large t-shirt, probably an old one of Mulder's, and it was so big it covered her toes where she sat. All three of them were chatting happily, no one noticing for now that she stood in the doorway.

Slowly though, the image faded and the room darkened once more. Now there was no laughter, no cake, no decorations. The only thing apparent in the kitchen was an empty pizza box settled vicariously on the edge of the bench.

Sighing, Scully moved through the lounge towards the bedroom. The lounge brightened, too, only for the briefest of moments to show Mulder fast asleep on the couch, a sleeping Emily on his chest. In the arm chair beside them Scully herself sat stroking William's hair gently as he slept. Though she knew a storm raged outside, inside felt safe.

Scully's heart sank just a little lower now as she trudged towards the bedroom. She waited briefly in the doorway, expecting another scene to play in front of her, but here there was nothing, the room in semi darkness.

Outside, close by, there was the sound of a child's laughter. Though she wanted nothing more than to curl up under those blankets and forget her day, Scully made her way towards the back door.

Pushing it open, she had to squint against the sun that still shone brightly despite the late hour. Out here, the air was filled with happiness and family and all the things Scully had felt draining from her as she worked.

William was the first to notice her, and he immediately dropped the softball bat he was holding to offer, "It was my idea. I made him!"

"It's true! He didn't even eat any!" Emily added. Emily who was loyal to a fault where Mulder was concerned. She and Scully had that in common.

Scully didn't utter a word as she walked down the steps, stopping only to slip the high heels from her feet before she approached the place William had vacated to picked up the bat.

In front of her, Mulder's eyes narrowed and he cocked his head.

In reply, Scully raised her eyebrows in challenge.

The children waited with baited breath.

Accepting the challenge, for he always accepted a challenge, Mulder bowled. Scully hit the ball like a practiced professional, eyes staying on Mulder as she sauntered from base to base while Emily and William scrambled into the bushes to find the ball.

"Home run." Scully finally spoke as her foot landed where she'd begun.

Letting out a sigh, knowing he had lost the challenge, Mulder held out his hands in a silent shrug. "It's the first day of the summer holidays. They begged me."

"You're the adult, and you know they're only allowed pizza once a month." Scully pointed out.

"But that means we won't be able to have any when we go to the ballgame!" William was aghast. It was tradition.

Mimicking Mulder's movement a moment earlier, Scully gave a silent shrug, eyes still on the man before her. "You have your father to thank for that."

Huffing, William walked into the house, well aware that the fun they'd had would have to stop now his mother was home in time to enforce their usual bedtime. Though he loved her more than anything, as a serious child he sometimes needed Mulder's willingness to be silly and naughty. He was quickly followed by Emily who dropped the softball into its rightful home in the box beside the back door.

As Scully placed the bat beside it, hands rested on her hips. "C'mon, Scully."

Scully looked up, noting the way the house had lit up once again. When she walked back in, there would be no more darkened rooms, there would be light and noise and people. She considered Mulder's reflection in the window in front of them. He was doing his puppy dog eyes. "Did you save me a piece?"

"It's in the oven." Mulder whispered in her ear, smiling as he walked into the house ahead of her.

Scully may be the one who stuck to the rules more than most, but even she caved in occasionally. Especially where puppy dog eyes and pizza were involved.

* * *

"What happened?"

"Hmm?" Scully questioned. it was not as she'd envisioned earlier, but it was somehow better. Mulder was sat on one side of the couch and she was stretched out of the rest of it, her head on his lap as his fingers tangled in her hair. They could hear the children talking with one another, though they were supposed to be asleep.

"You were sad when you came home."

Scully gave a faint smile, lifting her head just a little to kiss the hand that played with her hair. "I'm not anymore."

"Why were you, though?" Mulder risked.

"…Do you ever think sometimes when you walk through those doors that this will all be a dream? That neither of them are really here."

"I dream a lot of things, Scully. You're normally naked in them."

Scully couldn't stop the smirk that found its way to her lips. " _Fox."_

Mulder knew that name meant business, and he paused before reply. "Sometimes. But wherever they are I always manage to find them. It's you not being here that gives me nightmares."

Scully opened her eyes and looked up into her partner's. Lifting a hand, she brushed her fingers against the stubble on his jaw. "'M always going to be here. Even when we're so old you have to push my wheelchair with yours, remember."

Smiling, Mulder lowered his head to kiss her tenderly. Happiness for them had always been so fleeting that he supposed it was natural for them both to worry about it being snatched away.

As the light from outside began to fade, so too did the children's voices. Soon, Scully found herself lying on the couch alone, her hands gripping tightly to an old worn t-shirt that might have covered Emily's toes or protected William's clothes from cake mix. It used to smell of Mulder. Rolling onto her side, Scully curled into the t-shirt and waited impatiently for the dawn when the sun might stream into the window and give her a glimpse of the family she had never been allowed to have.

* * *

It took Scully mere seconds to wake, aware of a presence nearby. She tensed, hand going to her hip where her gun usually resided, but then a sigh escaped her lips and she relaxed once more. "Mulder."

He nodded his head, though Scully's eyes weren't open to see. "Did you have the dream again?"

There was no hesitation needed anymore, no denials. She simply nodded.

Sighing, Mulder slipped the t-shirt from Scully's grasp and then lifted her a little as he sat down so that she could curl against him. There was no point reminding her she could have come to him. He'd offered that so many times and yet he always found her here, curled up with that t-shirt. "Tell me what happened."

* * *

"Mulder?" Scully mumbled as she woke, her eyelids flickering. She felt a body shift against her and gave a groan. Her head was pounding as though she had a hangover, though no alcohol had passed her lips. "What time is it?"

"Too early to be awake." Came a gruff voiced reply. There was something else in his voice, though, that caused Scully to turn and look down. It was Mulder. It was always Mulder. But it was the other version of him. The happy one.

Scrambling from the bed and ignoring his questions, she rushed to the children's rooms. The sun was starting to peak through the bottom of the curtains, and it illuminated William's sleeping face. He looked so relaxed, and he barely stirred when his mother dropped a kiss to his hair. Next, she moved to Emily's room. The night light the girl still used lit the room in a gentle pink, and in the shallow light Scully watched her chest move slowly up and down, breathing. Alive.

"Did you have the dream again?" A whispered voice asked.

Scully nodded silently.

"Tell me what happened. Was I there?"

Scully smiled faintly at this, turning from her daughter to rest a hand to Mulder's chest. "You're always there." She pressed herself to him, allowed his strong arms to embrace her, to make her safe.

"Back to bed?"

"I don't want to go to sleep again. I'm frightened." Scully's reply was murmured into his bare chest and Mulder only just caught it.

"There's no need to be scared, Scully. I'll look after you."

How many years had she fought against people thinking they needed to look after her, and yet now it made her smile gently again. "I know. you're always there, always looking after me. But sometimes…sometimes my babies aren't there, and I don't know where they are or how to get to them, and it scares me."

Mulder dropped a kiss to her hair, holding her for a little while longer before he pulled back. "What do I say in these dreams?"

Scully gazed up at her partner in the morning sunlight for a long time before she replied. "You tell me you'll find them. You'll never stop looking until you find them."

"And I wouldn't."

"I know." Scully nodded, attempting to curl back into his embrace.

"Why don't we try and think of something you can do in these dreams that will remind you they aren't real?" Mulder offered, a hand sliding down Scully's arm to take her hand before he led her back towards the bedroom.

"I don't want to." Sully almost whined the words, reluctant to think of the sadness she felt.

Mulder apparently ignored her words, for he just sat down on the edge of the bed, resting against the headboard before he pulled Scully back into him, holding her tightly. "What feels different in these dreams?"

" _Mulder."_ Scully spoke earnestly.

"You're here with me, the kids are safe. Just try."

The red head huffed from her nose but closed her eyes, feeling the darkness beginning to creep over her heart. "You…smell different."

"Different how?"

Scully turned her head to breathe him in. "When it's real, you smell…warm. " Tears sparkled in her eyes, though she refused to let him see them. He didn't smell warm, he didn't smell like Mulder.

"Warm?"

Scully heard the amusement in his voice and huffed again as she opened her eyes. "This is pointless."

"No, it's not. Now, if you're not sure if it's real or not, you can sniff me. If I don't smell..warm, then-"

"Then what? How do I wake myself up? What if I don't want to wake up?"

Mulder hushed her, dropping a kiss to her shoulder before his hand reached out to hold hers, lifting up her left hand so they could both look at it. "Touch this." Mulder tapped her wedding ring. "Twist it when you want to wake up. I always know when you're twisting it, and I can wake you up."

Though Scully huffed again, she settled back into his embrace again, trying to focus on large fingers delicately twirling the ring on her finger. She pictured his face- she knew every part of it. So open, so sure. "Okay."

* * *

When Scully woke she was lying on the couch curled up, the t-shirt held tightly to her chest once more. She could feel Mulder lying behind her, his breath tickling the back of her neck. But the room had the musty darkness of somewhere that was abandoned. Scully felt the panic beginning to rise, her chest beginning to tighten. Though she felt silly, the red head turned her head to sniff at the Mulder behind her. He no longer smelled of the choc chip biscuits she was forever finding the packets for but that she never saw him eating, or of Emily's strawberry bubble bath. He smelled of stale beer and salty tears, but the overwhelming scent coming from him was warmth.

Breath coming out shaky, she dropped a tender kiss to Mulder's cheek and then shut her eyes tightly as she twirled her wedding ring.

She kept her eyes tightly shut, willing him to hear her. Willing the happy Mulder to bring her back. All she felt, though, was the Mulder behind her beginning to stir, the arm that had covered her coming up to lace his fingers through those on her left hand.

"Did you have the dream again?" His voice was soft, still laced with sleep.

Scully nodded, turning quickly so she could bury her face into Mulder, breathe him in. Her children weren't there, but he was. He was always there.

As Scully's tears began to fall, Mulder wrapped her tightly into his arms and tried to hold back his own tears. He wished he could have that dream, too.


	4. Baseball

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! I'm new to this fandom, but I love writing with others, so if anyone could point me in the direction of anyone who might like to write, please PM or review and let me know!**

* * *

"Muldeeeer!" Scully was not a whiner by nature, but sometimes whining was called for. "Mulder, it's too late."

"You don't have to come if you don't want to." Mulder stopped lacing his boot to look up at her. "But I promised."

Scully could feel herself pouting, but she couldn't seem to stop. Since William had come back to them she had barely been apart from him, and he had barely been outside the house. "I know. And I know that it's important to you that you don't break a promise, but you know he has trouble sleeping!"

"If he gets tired, we'll come home." Mulder resumed lacing his boots. He knew Scully had known William a lot longer than him before he was adopted, and that she had been monopolising him since his return. He didn't blame her. But he wanted time with his son as well. His family had never really had any real traditions, but he and Samantha always used to go and see the first baseball game of the season, and he had promised William he would take him. One night, after they'd both woken from a nightmare, they'd curled into bed together beside a slumbering Scully and Mulder had told his son all about Samantha.

"…You need to make sure he wears warm enough clothes, and he will need to eat because he'll miss dinner, and-"

"Scully, you can come with us. I've said you can come with us." Mulder pushed himself to his feet as Scully shuffled hers and looked out the window.

"I don't want to interrupt your…bonding time."

"Scully." He came to stand in front of her and put one hand on each of her cheeks to turn her face towards him before leaning forward to kiss her gently. "It's not me and William, or you and William, it's William and his mother and father. If you don't mind sitting through a baseball game, then we want you to come with us."

Scully sighed, giving no other reply as she left the room to check on what William had decided to wear.

* * *

"I look ridiculous." Scully tugged at the shirt she wore above a pair of jeans.

"You look adorable." Mulder grinned. She wore one of his baseball shirts, and it was so big it skimmed her mid-thigh.

"Not the look I'm going for, Mulder." Came a dry reply.

"You're going for a look? Who you tryin' to impress?" Mulder smirked at Scully's soft blush. "You know, I've had dreams about you wearing that shirt and nothing else." Mulder's voice was low, and when he saw Scully's blush deepen, he had to grin. Somehow, after all they'd been through together, he could still make her blush.

Hoping to change the subject, Scully tilted her head towards the single bathroom they'd sent William into a couple of minutes before. "Check on him."

"Almost done, buddy?" Mulder called.

All they heard was a muffled reply. When Mulder looked hopefully to Scully, she shook her head and indicated that he go in. It was their time to bond, after all.

Rolling his eyes, Mulder slipped inside and shut the door. "What's the problem, bud?"

"..I didn't make it in time." The 5 year old replied forlornly.

"You've…oh. Right. Right." Mulder put his hands in his pockets hopelessly. He hadn't thought to bring a thing for William to change into, despite the fact he'd had several accidents since coming back to them. Should he go and buy him some? Where would he buy them? What size would he get?

"Mulder." Scully knocked on the door, and a moment later her slim arm reached around the door with a packet of wet wipes and another pair of trousers. God bless Dana Scully.

* * *

"There must be millions of people here!" William cried as he looked around the stadium from their seats. He sat between his parents, Mulder's arm stretched over the back of the seat protectively, though his fingers occasionally gave Scully's hair a gentle tug to get her attention. She was enjoying the evening despite herself and had barely heard a word he'd said about the game rules.

"Not millions, but a lot. I bet if you ask your mummy, she will know exactly how many."

William turned his wide eyes to Scully.

"..This stadium holds about 41, 313 people."

"…How does she know these things?" William asked Mulder.

"Don't know, Buddy. Your mother is the biggest mystery to me."

"But you like mysteries, don't you?" William questioned.

"She's my favourite mystery of all." Mulder replied in a loud whisper, sure he saw Scully's lips twitch up momentarily.

* * *

"That's the biggest hotdog I've ever seen in my life!" William crowed loudly, making Scully blush as the man in front of them bit into his hotdog then hesitated at William's words and turned his head a little.

"Do you want one?" Mulder asked, only considering afterwards that he should check with Scully.

"Extra mustard on mine, and hold his hand the entire way even if he wants to let go!" Scully called, her boys already scrambling out of their seats hungrily.

* * *

As the game neared its end, Scully found herself on the edge of her seat. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but she was almost positive Mulder's team were winning. Their team now, she supposed. The thought made her smile.

"Are we winning, Mulder?"

When she received no reply, she turned back to find William fast asleep in his father's lap, Mulder just gazing down at him in silent awe.

As the 9th inning ended, Mulder's team the victors for the first time since Scully had known him, there were three people in the crowd who didn't cheer, who didn't make a sound.

Mulder was never quite sure what went through Scully's head during that baseball game, but afterwards her grip on William loosened. Only a little. Only enough to allow room for Mulder to hold his other hand.


	5. Arousal

Mulder huffed and began twisting from side to side in his chair. He didn't want to be here, and the room was stifling. In fact, he didn't even know why he was here. Skinner had said they wanted to discuss a case with him, but so far they'd been doing all the talking and had barely looked his way.

A sigh of annoyance reminded Mulder of the woman who sat across from him. A woman who had once thrown a dart at him in pure anger when he'd been swinging from side to side in his chair. Mulder gave an apologetic smile, stopping his movement as he glanced her way.

It was Scully that the speaker had mostly directed his words towards, giving her the occasional smile. He'd even thrown in an innuendo, which had been the match that had set Mulder's fire of annoyance at his current situation.

He assumed she was either embarrassed at the attention she was getting or as hot as Mulder in this un-air-conditioned room, for her cheeks and what he could see of her chest were red. It was as Mulder went to look away that he noticed something else. Her nipples were straining against the shirt she wore. She certainly wasn't cold, and the only other time that happened was when…

Mulder's mind drifted back to that morning. He'd woken at the sound of the alarm alone in bed, but he could hear the shower running and it made him smile. Slowly, they seemed to be developing habits. At first, Scully would leave before he'd even woken, then she started waking him to say goodbye. Recently, she'd started showering and having breakfast here before she drove with him to work. Not every day, only on occasion, but it was those mornings he cherished the most.

Climbing from the bed, he'd walked slowly into the bathroom. No need to strip his boxers, for he could see those hanging of the lampshade where a rather less dainty Scully than he was used to had thrown them the night before.

The room was steamy and he couldn't see through the glass panels into the shower, but he could hear Scully humming to herself as she showered. The humming stopped and a quiet squeal of surprise left her lips when hands suddenly replaced hers to massage the shampoo into her scalp.

"What are you doing?!" She'd asked.

"You use so much hot water, and I don't feel like a cold shower." Had been Mulder's only reply.

She had smirked at that, a smirk that said she knew exactly why he'd joined her in the shower.

Soon, Scully had been bent forward, forearms braced against the wall, eyes shut as her humming was replaced with moans of her partners name as he drove into her. She was close, he could feel it.

Something he'd discovered about Scully was that she loved morning sex. Night time was usually the time to make love, but morning was hard and fast and sweaty. The shower was really the best place for it, considering. They'd tried just about every angle in the last few weeks, but this was the one Scully liked best. If they left the door open to allow the steam to escape, from this angle she could see Mulder's face in the mirror. Today though, the steam was blanketing them and it was all about the other senses.

"Mulder! I..ah! I-" But as Scully began to quiver, as Mulder's hand moved to hold her lower abdomen in the hope of stopping her falling, the steaming hot water turned into a jet of ice.

Scully squealed again, choking on a laugh when she heard the scream that left Mulder's mouth.

Though they were out of the water quickly, by the time they were warmed up enough to start again, Mulder had received a call to say they were both wanted as soon as possible.

And now here dainty, straight laced Scully sat in a room full of people, smiling uncomfortably but politely at a man talking to her, aroused. He wondered if she was thinking of that morning.

Mulder tried to bite back a smile, he really did, but as Scully shifted a little in her seat and gave a sigh he was the only one familiar with, he couldn't stop it appearing. It would happen that she looked his way at that moment, of course, and he found himself on the receiving end of a warning look.

Though he tilted his head hopefully towards the door and raised his eyebrows, Scully's mouth silently gave him a response. _NO._

Was it really his fault when they found themselves in a packed elevator a little while later, with more people trying to get on, that his hands rested on her hips and he pulled her back into him? He was only being gentlemanly. He was only stopping her from getting squashed. He didn't miss the gasp and sigh that left her lips in quick succession, though.

Was it really his fault when, in line behind the other agents from the meeting waiting for coffee, Scully couldn't hear his words and he was forced to lean forward to speak directly into her ear? He really, honestly, had only meant to lick his lips to try and get his hoarse voice out louder. That his tongue had brushed her ear was entirely by accident.

Was it really his fault that a short while later he was forced to follow Scully into a single bathroom cubicle? There were hardly any bathrooms around, and he did need to pee. Honestly. That somehow Scully's shirt buttons were opened and his lips latched onto her nipple as she grabbed tightly to his hair wasn't his fault.

It probably was his fault, though, that straight-laced Dana Scully turned a predatory glare on him as soon as they made it back to their basement office, her hand reaching past him to lock the door.

And boy, was it definitely his fault when, unable to keep silent, a cry that had started that morning finally left her lips.


	6. In Love

Scully had lived many years on little sleep, whether it be due to inability to fall asleep as her thoughts raced, or because she simply didn't have the time for a full 8 hours. She thought that mode would be easy to slip back into, but unfortunately for her and those around her, it was anything but.

"Scully." Mulder shook her shoulder gently, then a little harder. "Scully, I've put a coffee beside the bed for you."

Scully groaned, rolling over without opening her eyes before she buried her face into her pillow once more.

"Scully." Mulder attempted again. The alarm had gone off over half an hour ago. "Time to get up."

"Coffee?"

"It's beside the bed." Mulder offered as he returned to the bathroom to shave, hoping she would at least be sitting up by the time he was done. No such luck, though, for when he walked out her breathing had evened out again.

Sighing, Mulder attempted the last thing he could think of. Yes, she would wake grumpy, but at least she'd be awake. He switched the radio onto the pop channel and turned the volume up.

Scully woke quickly, holding the pillow over her head. "Mulder, turn it off! I hate you. _MULDER_!"

* * *

As they sat down for breakfast, William and his father having porridge and his mother apparently only having coffee, William looked between them warily. He had been babysat the night before so they could go out together, and when he'd woken briefly on their arrival home he had heard his mother giggling, yet now she looked upset.

"…Mummy?" William finally asked as he finished his food.

"Mm?" Scully looked up, trying to force a smile onto her lips despite the fact her brain felt as though it might split into two. Who's idea was it to go out on a school night? She was preparing to blame Mulder when she realised it had been her own suggestion.

"My friend Maddie-"

Scully had to smile at this. Maddie was his first friend on his first day of school a couple of weeks before, and he was forever starting sentences this way.

"-Has cereal for breakfast that's blue."

"Oh buddy, don't start your mother on all the things wrong with eating blue cereal." Mulder laughed, earning himself a glare from Scully that did not go unnoticed by William.

"Only at her daddy's house. Her mummy makes her eat fruit."

"Well, her mummy sounds like a very sensible person." Scully replied, giving Mulder a pointed look.

"…Will I have to have two different breakfasts if you two don't want to live together anymore?"

At this Mulder put down the paper he had been reading and he exchanged glances with Scully.

"Why do you ask that, will?" Scully leant forward to take her son's hand as he stared down at his empty bowl.

"You're cross with daddy, and Maddie said her parents were cross, and then she had to move out with he mummy."

"I'm always cross with daddy, sweetheart, but that doesn't mean I don't love him, or that we're going to live in separate houses. It just means that...well, you know when we went on that plane ride and the boy behind you kept kicking your seat and you got really annoyed, but then he asked if you wanted to play with his trains?" At William's nod, Scully continued. "Well, you're dad is a bit like that boy. He is very annoying, but he…he…"" Scully couldn't quite remember where she'd been going with this, having only finished half of her usual 3 cups of hangover coffee.

"He?" Mulder prompted, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"…Likes to share his toys and comics?" William offered helpfully.

"Your mother has never been interested in my toys or comics, bud." Mulder supplied. "I think what she is trying to say is that sometimes we annoy each other like that kid annoyed you, but we love each other more than anything. Well, not more than we love you. Well, not more than _I_ love you, but you know your mummy thinks I'm pretty much the coolest guy ever, so-"

As William began to giggle, knowing where playfulness like this usually led, Mulder gave scully a sly glance, pleased to find her smiling at him.

"Your head is going to be so big one day that you're not going to fit through the front door." Scully warned him as she leant forward to kiss Mulder.

It wasn't until the car ride to school that she addressed the issue again, reassuring her son that they would never live apart, that they wouldn't be able to even if they wanted to. When William had questioned this, his mother had given a gentle sigh.

"Because…he holds this little piece of me, and when we aren't together I feel like something is missing. Just like when you lost your teddy at the fair."

"Even now? Even when you'll see him soon?"

"Even now. Especially now, and you know why?"

"Why?" William asked as they pulled up outside his school.

"Because this car is scattered with sunflower seeds, and even though It makes me cross, it makes me love him even more, because he is so…he is just so…him."

"What does that mean?" William asked curiously as his mother climbed out and walked around to his side to help him out, grabbing his school bag for him.

"One day, you will love someone like I love your daddy and you will understand."

"I hope so." William nodded his head. "Maddie says-"

Scully smiled, ruffling her son's hair as they walked towards the building. Maybe he was already in love.


	7. Dating

Mulder tried to hold it in, he really did, but when he saw Scully smiling to herself as she checked her text messages, he couldn't stop himself. "Good weekend?"

Scully's eyes lifted to his, and then she glanced back down at her phone. Just as he thought she wasn't going to reply, she nibbled her lip and responded, "One of the best I've had in a very long time."

Mulder nodded, pushing himself up a little higher in his chair in the hope that he could see what she was texting. "What did you get up to?" He hoped his voice was nonchalant, though the twitch of Scully's lips told him it wasn't.

"A lot and not much." Was all she replied.

Mulder nodded his head again, returning to reading the file he had been looking over for the past hour, taking nothing in.

Apparently, for once, Scully was having trouble keeping things to herself, and only a couple of minutes later she gave a huff. "I've met someone."

Mulder's head flew up.

"We went…well, it was supposed to be only an outing on Saturday, but it turned into one of those dates that lasts all weekend. We went out for breakfast, to the museum, to a play. I don't think I've ever managed to fit so much into a weekend before." Scully felt her cheeks going red and kept her eyes firmly on her computer.

"..Sounds like you must be tired." Mulder finally replied, his voice gruff.

"Not especially. There was a lot of…time in bed as well." Scully replied, face now flaming as she wondered if she'd overshared.

"Will you be seeing this…gentleman again?"

"We've…we've got plans for tonight." Scully tucked hair behind her ear.

"So soon?"

"Do you think it's too soon?"

"No. No, I just…think it seems like you can't wait to see each other."

Scully gave a nod, and that was the last of it. Well, the last of it until Walter Skinner stormed into their office to tell them they were assigned to a case in Florida and would need to leave immediately.

Mulder saw Scully's face fall, so as soon as Skinner left the room he swung his chair her way. "I'll sort out the flights, you can cancel your date."

"Don't forget to book the spot with the extra leg room, or you'll be moaning the whole flight." Scully responded.

"Oh, this guy is a lucky man having a woman as thoughtful as you." Mulder shot back with a pained smile.

* * *

That night, Scully stared at the dirty motel ceiling, allowing herself a few minutes to wallow in pity. How did the ceiling manage to get so dirty? What did people _do_ in here?!

A knock at the door made her finally stand, a sigh leaving her lips. "if you're trying to cheer me up, Mulder-" She began, stopping when she pulled open the door.

"If Mohammed can't come to the mountain." The man before her, dressed in a suit and tie, held up a bottle of wine with one hand, and a tray covered in various cheeses and crackers with the other.

"...You didn't have to do this." Scully smiled, though.

"I wanted to." He said gently. "Are you going to invite me in?"

Scully stepped aside to allow him in, running her hands over the front of her shirt. "I feel underdressed. I only have the things that are in my work bag."

"You look beautiful." He whispered into her lips as he kissed her.

Scully hummed with happiness, hoping the walls of this motel weren't as thin as other's she'd stayed in.

It wasn't until much later that the cheese and wine were consumed, and then they were only had due to rumbling stomachs. The wine itself was soon tipped gently over Scully's middle, pooling in her belly button and the dip of her stomach as she giggled and then moaned when it was quickly kissed away. "The bed will be sticky."

"It already was." Was the only response he gave, moving up to caress her nipples with his tongue, the sweetness of the champagne and something entirely _Dana_ making his head spin, and Scully could feel him quickly growing hard again.

"Shower." She finally whispered.

"Hmm?"

"We're sticky. Shower."

Though he grumbled, the sight of Scully sashaying towards the bathroom was enough to get him out of bed.

"But don't think I'm going to sleep in that bed. We're going to your room afterwards."

Mulder smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist as she leaned forward to turn on the shower. "Yes, boss."


	8. Missing you

Never before in her life had Scully pined after someone. Never had she felt she needed someone in order to feel happy. In past relationships she enjoyed people's company but relished time spent alone, yet now being alone felt wrong somehow. She could live without Mulder, she knew that, but it would only be because that is what he would want.

With Mulder called away on a case and her staying behind to conduct a handful of autopsies for a local case, Scully had thought it might give her time to breathe. Once they'd admitted that they wanted one another there had barely been any time apart. Mulder was always there. At times Scully felt overwhelmed by it, yet now he wasn't there and she missed him. Desperately.

He'd called her each evening, usually so tired that he would fall asleep during the conversation and she'd listen to his steady breathing for a long time before she hung up. Once, he'd even called her at 3am after he'd had a nightmare, and the significance of him trusting her enough to call was not lost on Scully, but still it wasn't enough. She didn't think she would feel okay again until he was by her side.

And that moment was coming soon, for she walked with determined steps towards Skinner's office knowing Mulder would be just behind that closed door. She found herself wondering what he would be wearing- a white shirt, slightly unbuttoned with his tie loosened? That's how he usually looked after a case, his face rough with stubble. Scully had worn something she knew he liked and had been arguing with herself about it all day- she never dressed for men. Apparently Mulder was very different to other men.

When she first laid eyes on him, the swell of anxiety that had been surging and then receding since he'd left finally disappeared, but she was immediately struck by how tired he looked. He didn't lift his head to look at her, but Scully knew he'd felt her presence in the room when she'd walked in with two other agents a moment before. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she did. His fingers that had been tapping restlessly against the file he held stopped and moved instead to toy with the hairtie around his wrist. It took Scully a few seconds to realise it must be one of hers.

Scully only listened to the case details half-heartedly, her eyes on Mulder as she silently willed him to look up at her. Had he felt the same way she did at their separation? His eyes remained trained on the closed file in his lap.

"Agent Scully, perhaps you could go and take Agent Webster through the autopsy results, and Mulder, you need to go and finish this paperwork." Skinner advised, dismissing them.

Scully still failed to catch Mulder's eye as he stood and walked towards the door. How could a man who, two weeks earlier had sat outside a restaurant for 2 hours while Scully had lunch with her mother just in case she needed him, not bring himself to look at her?

Then she felt it. It was only brief, a fleeting touch, but Mulder's hand rested on its spot in the small of her back and gripped the material tightly. He needed her, too, only he couldn't show it. Not in a room full of people.

Though he still didn't look her way, Scully gave Mulder a soft smile before they parted ways in the corridor.

* * *

It was another two hours before Mulder finally looked at her. He was resting against the edge of his desk when Scully walked in, and as soon as she shut the door his eyes lifted and she gravitated towards him, a hand resting on his chest as she wrinkled her nose. "You're stinky."

Mulder gave a tired smile, reaching out both arms and pulling Scully closer until he could rest his head against her chest, releasing a soft sigh of a person finally able to relax.

"You didn't tell me you got hurt." She finally offered into the peaceful silence.

"I didn't." Mulder's voice sounded gruffer than usual, like he had barely used it or perhaps used it too much. "Not officially."

Scully pulled back just a little to inspect the stitches on Mulder's temple, gentle hands brushing his cheek. "What happened?"

"I fell out of bed." When Scully raised her eyebrows, he gave a tired smile. "Turns out I'm used to someone being beside me in bed, these days."

Scully's mouth moved into a silent 'oh', stroking her fingers down to brush his jaw before she finally pulled away from the embrace. "Come home with me and I will make you dinner, run you a bath, and then you can sleep."

* * *

Scully watched Mulder sleeping for a long time that night. The past few weeks had gone in such a rush, a flourish of sex and longing looks and hastily eaten meals, that she hadn't fully appreciated what was happening.

Mulder looked younger, suddenly, as though the worry he carried was not such a burden any longer. Or maybe he felt like now he didn't have to carry it alone.

"Mulder." Scully dropped a kiss to his cheek. It was almost 4am now, and rain beat down on the windows outside. "Mulder."

"Hmm?" He frowned a little and stretched, but didn't open his eyes. Sleep was coming so much more easily to him than it had in the past, but the last week on this case he'd barely slept a couple of hours a night.

"I forgot something." Scully whispered into the darkness.

"Forgot what?" Mulder managed, his voice thick with sleep.

"To tell you I missed you."

Mulder's frown turned into a sleepy smile and his arm around her tightened. "I missed you, too. Sleep, now."

Scully rested her head back on his chest, closing her eyes as she listened to his heartbeat.

"Scully?"

"Mm?"

"Love you."

Scully smiled into him. "Love you too, Mulder."


	9. Suburban

Scully looked around at the scene before her, unable to quite believe it. Here she, Dana Katherine Scully, stood in the big back garden of a suburban house- _her_ suburban house, having a barbecue. There were individuals, couples, families, all of whom she thought of as friends, people she trusted. How, after everything that had happened in her life, had she come to be here at a housewarming organised for her?

She didn't realise she was squishing the little boy on her lap until he began to grumble that she was holding him too tightly.

"Can I go and play with my friends now?" A four year old William asked hopefully. He'd only gone over to his mother for a little reassurance after he'd skinned his knee, and now she was looking misty eyed. He was sure that any moment now she would kiss him and his friends would see.

Sniffing, Scully released her grip, giving her son a smile when he ran half way towards the group of children and then stopped to look back at her.

"Are you okay, Dana?"

Scully squinted against the sunlight as she looked up, then reached for the table to pick up an errant pair of sunglasses. "I'm fine. Just feeling a little nostalgic."

Her friend Maria sat down beside her, giving a nod. "It always happens to me over the holidays, thinking about how last year the girls were younger, and pretty soon they're going to be teenagers and not even want to speak to me."

Scully let out a quiet laugh. "Whatever else happens, those girls are always going to come to you to make them cookies. I tried to make some with Will last week and he tasted them, then asked if we could go to your house!"

As Maria laughed, a hand sneaked up beside Scully's face and removed the sunglasses she wore, putting on a different pair before a cold drink was placed in her hand. Maria watched this with silent amusement, tilting her head as soon as the shadow moved away. "Does he let you do anything at all?"

"Not in the last couple of weeks." Scully sighed, running her hand over her baby bump. "I decided I better humour him."

"And you're exhausted."

Scully laughed, nodding her head. "And I'm exhausted."

* * *

"Whtrdoin?" Scully mumbled sleepily when she felt herself being jostled. The warmth of the afternoon sun had lulled her to sleep in her chair, and she didn't appreciate being woken.

"Taking you inside so you don't get a sore back from sleeping in a deck chair." Mulder offered, slipping one arm under her knees.

"Mmno." Scully wriggled, making him move away. "I'll get up in a minute."

Mulder raised his eyebrows but didn't argue, instead sitting on the end of the chair.

"Have you cleaned up?" Scully finally asked through a yawn.

"You'd never notice there had been a party here earlier today."

"Where's Will?"

"Asleep in bed."

"..And everyone's gone?"

"They left about an hour ago when the sun went down."

Scully frowned, finally opening her eyes to find the light she could feel was now that of the porch. "How long was I asleep?"

"About 3 hours, I think. Will joined you for a while, and so did that stray dog you insist you don't love."

Scully chuckled sleepily, finally reaching out her arms. "Carry me to bed. Too sleepy."

Smiling, Mulder slid an arm under her knees once more.

"But don't let that damn dog inside."

"Yes, Mrs Mulder."

* * *

The next morning Scully moved to the left and gave a gentle laugh when strong arms still managed to wrap themselves around her. "You'll be late for work, and Dana Scully won't be there to dig you out of the hole you'll end up in."

"I know." Mulder muttered, resting his chin on her shoulder as his hands spread over her bump and stroked it tenderly. "Promise me it won't be today."

"I'm not due for another 3 weeks, Mulder." Scully pointed out, trying to reach to turn on the washing machine.

"Maybe I should-"

"What you should do is go to work. We've discussed this. You'll take leave once she or he is born. Now please go before William gets up and wants to play ball with you." Scully finally managed to wriggle from her partner's grasp, but a smile suddenly lit her face as she glanced down. "Really?"

Mulder huffed, looking down at the obvious bulge in his trousers.

"Mulder, I'm the size of a whale, my ankles are swollen, and-"

"And you have fantastic breasts." He ended.

Smirking, Scully tilted her head to look at the clock. William shouldn't be up for at least another half an hour. "Well, you know, seeing you in a white t-shirt yesterday while you were doing the grilling was a little bit of a turn on."

"Really?" Mulder grinned, reaching forward to begin toying with the bottom edge of the t-shirt she wore.

"Yeah." Scully responded, resting her hands against his chest. She gave a quiet squeal when Mulder sat her suddenly on top of the washing machine and moved to stand between her legs.

"You should have told me. I could have given a bit of a gun show." Mulder flexed his muscles, emitting a laugh from the woman before him.

"Oh, it wasn't those muscles I was admiring." Reaching round him, probably in an ungainly manner rather than flirty like she hoped, Scully's hands just brushed his bum when there was a noise of excitement from the room next door.

"Are you staying home today, dad? Can we play ball?!"

Mulder groaned and rested his head on Scully's shoulder.

"Told you so."

"...Can we pick up again when I get home?"

"If I'm not too tired." Scully promised. She stayed on her perch as she heard Mulder enter the kitchen to talk to their son.

"I've got good news and bad news, bud. Bad news is I have to go to work, but good news is that I'm going to be grilling again tonight!"

Smiling, Scully rolled her eyes and slid off the washing machine before turning it on. Hopefully William would exhaust himself today and need a nap so she'd be ready for another viewing of suburban Fox Mulder, griller extraordinaire.


	10. Rumours

Scully didn't listen to rumours. Well, not usually. This new rumour, though, had piqued her interest. One of the younger doctors was dating an older man, they said. Scully didn't care. Said older man had a bit of a UFO obsession, apparently. Scully found herself listening a little more closely.

When she'd left Mulder, they hadn't really discussed what might happen if they met other people. She had just assumed that he felt the same way she did- they were each others person, and even though she left, they would be together again one day. Maybe it would be one day when they were old and grey and had nothing left to give the world, or maybe one day when the pull of the past began too much to ignore they would reunite. But either way, there would never be anyone else.

Except now, though she told herself it was gossip and that Mulder would never leave the house long enough to woo a busy professional woman anyway, Scully still found that her heart ached.

The man they described sounded just like her Mulder- dark hair that was always a little messy, tall, strong, lips that always pouted just a little, even when he was happy.

She thought of how Mulder was when they'd first started to admit they had feelings for one another. He still brought out his perfectly timed pout, his grumpiness, but there had been a light in his eyes that danced, his smile coming out a little more often. Scully tried to think hard about how Mulder had behaved the few times she'd seen him recently. The very last time, he'd met her at the front door with a smile. He hadn't once mentioned anything x-file related that visit. _Oh god._

Still she tried to tell herself it wasn't Mulder. If he had decided he wanted to date someone, he wouldn't be so cruel as to pick one of her colleagues, surely. He would tell her, anyway.

She could have visited him and asked, she supposed. She could have even called him back when, concerned that she hadn't showed up on the weekend as she usually did, Mulder had made the trek into town to call her from a phone box and had given the number to her and a time he would be waiting there. But she didn't. She didn't want to know.

Except she still listened when they were talking in the break room. Apparently the doctor would be going to his house tonight for the first time. She was taking him some novelty flavoured sunflower seeds. Scully thought she might be sick.

For the first time in her life, Scully cried off work. She had been due to work the night shift but had claimed sickness, barely giving her boss time to respond before she was out the door and walking to her car.

Mulder's house was pitch black when she arrived. She couldn't see any other vehicles, but that didn't mean anything.

Her anger, her hurt, had been building the whole way there, so Scully made no attempt at being quiet as she barged into the house, flicking on lights as she went.

Nothing looked different in the lounge, nothing pointed toward anyone else being in the house besides Mulder, except in the kitchen where she found two empty ready meal containers still sitting on the table.

Taking the stairs as quickly and loudly as she could, Scully made her way to the bedroom. There was no one in there. The sheets were still as smooth as the day Scully had optimistically changed them in the hope Mulder might sleep there instead of the couch.

A categorical search of the upstairs showed no one, not even Mulder, and the downstairs similar. By the time Scully reached the door of the last room, his study, the fire inside her was not merely ash. She knocked softly, but when no reply came she pushed open the door.

And there was Mulder. Alone. Fast asleep with his head resting on a file. Stepping closer, Scully could see that it wasn't actually a file, but an album. An album with her photo in it right beside William's. Inside were newspaper clippings dating from the day William was born, of strange things happening involving boys of William's age. He was keeping an eye on their son. He was looking after him, as best he could.

"Mulder." She shook his shoulder gently, then bent down to kiss his hair. "Mulder?"

He drew in a deep breath, a slight smile pulling at his lips before he opened one eye to look at her. "You came."

Scully frowned a little, tilting her head to the side. "You were expecting me?"

"It's your birthday."

Scully lifted her eyes to the calendar above his head, and a smile began to twitch at her lips. "It's been four years since the last time you remembered."

"Exactly." Mulder nodded his head. "I made you dinner."

"A ready meal. Which you ate along with your own." She replied dryly, though her eyes sparkled.

"Not just any ready meal, Scully. Mac and cheese."

"Oh, be still my beating heart." Scully couldn't help but smile, reaching out to try and smooth down his hair. "Did you get me a present, too?"

"Mm-hmm. From a catalogue, because I know you always adore things from catalogues." Mulder shot back, standing. "Don't get too excited, though. It's no Apollo 11 keyring."

"I'll try to rein in my disappointment." Scully sat down in the chair, hand moving to brush over the photo of William.

"Close your eyes."

Scully did as instructed, leaning back in the chair with a smile. "You know, I came here tonight because I got it into my head that you were having an affair with one of the other doctors at the hospital."

"Were you jealous?"

"So jealous I almost replaced her shampoo with hair removal cream."

"Dana Scully! Mean Girl. Who would have thought it."

Scully was grinning now, reaching out her hands in the direction she could hear him talking from. "The nurses said he was devastatingly handsome, an expert pouter, loved UFO's and was always eating sunflower seeds. You can hardly blame me for thinking it was you."

"You think I'm devastatingly handsome?"

"You know I do. Where is my present?"

"…I am seeing someone."

Scully's smile fell and her eyes flew open to look at the man before her when she heard the hesitant note in his voice.

"That's your…well, part of your birthday present." Mulder offered as he rummaged around in a draw.

Scully frowned, studying him intently. "Seeing who?"

"A psychiatrist. She's put me on medication, and I'm taking it." Mulder paused briefly to motion towards a packet of medication that was thrown on the desk.

Scully picked it up and turned it over in her fingers. "Why? I mean, why now?"

"…Because one day William is going to need our help, and I can't help him holed up in here feeling sorry for myself." Mulder replied. As though it was that simple. As though years of her begging him to get help had been for nothing. But Scully didn't feel hurt or upset. She felt happy that somehow, William had helped his father. She felt a sudden hope for the future. A future with Mulder and their son.

"That's why you've been doing this?" Scully motioned to the album.

Mulder only gave a nod, finally holding out a small box.

Raising her eyebrows, Scully took it off him and opened it carefully. She stared at its contents for a long time before a laugh bubbled out of her. "Really?"

"The kids will like it."

Still chuckling, Scully pulled out the rubber stethoscope attachment of a glow in the dark alien head. "You, Spooky Mulder, are crazy.

"And you wouldn't have me any other way."

"No, I wouldn't."

* * *

Scully tried not to listen to rumours after that, but sometimes they just got to her. Another doctor dating another strange man. A man who visits the hospital at strange times and disappeared when anyone knocked on the office door. The office door that people could hear giggling on the other side of, or infectious laughter that always made the passer-by smile.

They could never work out this visitors name, for he gave a different one every time he showed up, but the person he visited was always the same. Dana Scully.

She didn't really mind being the subject of gossip.

Scully didn't mind anything so much anymore, now she had her partner back.


	11. Personal Space

Scully had always treasured her personal space, even where intimate relationships were concerned. Perhaps it was because she was shorter than many people, but they tended to stand much too close to her, forcing her to tilt her head back so far she'd have a headache at the end of the day

She didn't mind Fox Mulder's intrusion on her personal space, though. She couldn't even say when it had begun, though she was sure he hadn't done it when they were first partnered.

It even got to the point where, if he stood too close and her neck began to ache, she'd simply put a hand on his chest to push him back a little. He was never offended. Sometimes he'd even reach out and massage her neck for her, offering an apology along with it.

When their relationship developed into an intimate one, if Mulder stood too close she would just rest her head on his chest, and they'd had many a serious conversation this way, Mulder's hand absently rubbing over her back.

She was sure it would look odd to some people. It looked odd to her when she saw them standing this way once in a window. As a very private person, Scully didn't really enjoy public displays of affection, and yet this was probably the most intimate thing she could do in public.

Scully had attempted, very briefly, not to rest against Mulder's chest after she'd noticed, but all that this achieved was that they'd suddenly have their conversations with her standing and him sitting down with his head nestled against her chest, her fingers dancing through his hair.

When Scully was pregnant, she despised the way people felt that it was okay to come over and touch her belly, and more than once she'd threatened to have people arrested for doing it. Mulder always chuckled when he found Scully red faced and yelling at people in the middle of the street or the store. She didn't mind when Mulder touched her, though. Whenever they were together, his hand would be somewhere on her bump. Usually on the side, right where the baby always seemed to wriggle. When, once, they'd been in a baby store, Scully had caught sight of a woman looking at them jealously. When Scully looked at their reflection, she found herself smiling. How intimate that touch looked, like they were in their own little world, their family.

After their baby made it's screaming entrance into the world, Scully often found herself watching their reflection. Sometimes she did it for too long and began to feel disconnected from the woman she saw, the one who smiled and laughed and was gazed at with adoration by the two males in her life. When that happened, Scully would rest her head on Mulder's chest and listen to his heartbeat, or hold William close and breathe in his scent.

Scully kept an eye on that reflection for a long time, expecting to see what, she wasn't sure of. Sadness? Regret? Unhappiness? Whatever it was, she never saw it. Mulder continued to stand in her personal space, and soon their son followed suit, always pressed against her side with his head resting on her legs, then her hip, then her middle.

It was the reflection that made her realise the day that William stopped standing so close. Sometimes at home he would still curl into her, but when they were outside those walls, he moved away. She tried not to be hurt- he was growing up.

Mulder stilled stayed close, though. Through happiness, sadness, separation, returning to one another. Every time Scully looked at their reflection, he was always in her personal space.

One day, Scully realised that meant she stood in his personal space, too. He never shied away from that, never asked her to move away, never stepped back trying to be polite.

One day, Scully realised that it was actually because she and Mulder shared a personal space. Sometimes it separated them a little more from other people, but mostly it brought them together with one another, always close, always touching. Always home.

When William was old enough, he admired this. He hoped one day he could find someone to share his space with, too.


	12. Power of the spoken word

Irritated by the fact this so called psychic had no real new information for them, Mulder quickly stomped from the room and headed to the car. Scully was a few steps behind when the man spoke suddenly.

"You're going to have a child."

Scully stilled, turning to look at the man who still sat behind his ornate wooden desk.

"Not now, but soon. You're going to have a child."

Scully blinked back the tears that immediately sprung to her eyes and followed Mulder from the room without another word. The man must have seen her gazing at the photo of his children on the desk and decided to have a little fun, she decided.

Mulder looked at her sideways when she climbed into the passanger seat and slammed the door. "Okay?"

"He was wasting our time." Was all she muttered, staring out the windscreen at the man who was now stood at his window looking out at them.

* * *

Scully tried to push the encounter from her mind, but it just kept coming into her head at the most inopportune moments. She had told Mulder eventually one night when her chest hurt so bad she thought she might die of a broken heart. Mulder had been furious, more angry than she'd ever seen him. She'd had to physically restrain him from going to kill the man.

Now, she found herself faking happiness to stop him getting worked up again.

But sometimes…sometimes when her walls were down, she thought of the man's words and silently hoped.

Slowly, the more she pushed it down, the more it reared its head. _You're going to have a child._

* * *

Scully's fingers gripped at Mulder's shirt, her nails digging into him as she desperately sought purchase. Her back was pressed against the filing cabinet and her skirt was round her waist. She couldn't quite remember how they'd come to be here, but she didn't care. Mulder was filling her completely, his head lowered as his lips and teeth played against the spot just above her sensitive nipple.

"Mulder!" She gasped as he nipped at her skin again, as her legs wrapped more securely around him and allowed him to slide a little deeper into her warmth.

Mulder's response was unintelligible as he continued to set the pace, hitting right where scully needed him too.

She remembered, then. Why she had been the one to initiate this. She had wanted, just for a short while, to forget that man's words. To stop repeating them over and over in her mind.

She didn't hold back her wail as she came, her walls clamping down so hard on Mulder that his teeth nipped her a little too forcefully and caused another wail to leave her lips, her pleasure doubling.

Then she said it. It wasn't a conscious thought, not really. It just slipped from her lips. Mulder's orgasm was always so close behind hers.

"Make me pregnant!"

If he was surprised or worried about this, Mulder had no time to think or speak, or respond in any other way than muffling his cry into her breast as his seed emptied inside her.

Eventually, slowly, Scully lowered her legs to the floor, a sigh leaving her lips as she felt Mulder leaving her body. Her cheeks were red from exertion, but also from embarrassment. She'd said the words out loud. The words she'd always cried in her head as she felt him beginning to pulse inside her.

Mulder's cheeks were red, too. His eyes remained closed as he tried to regulate his breathing, one had still pressed firmly to the filing cabinet as though it was the only thing holding him up.

Scully smoothed her skirt down, then fixed the buttons on her shirt. Finally, she reached out to fix Mulder's pants, tucking him back inside and reaching up to fix his hair.

His eyes opened, looking at her with a mixture of love and pain and concern. When he opened his mouth, Scully slid out from under his arm and walked towards the desk as though nothing had happened. Nothing at all.

"Scully-"

"Don't, Mulder."

Mulder sighed but didn't push the issue, instead studying her in silence.

* * *

It happened often after that. Almost every time they made love. Scully would never talk about it afterwards, and though Mulder always attempted to hold back so she would have to talk, he could never resist her when she looked at him with lowered eyelids.

Then one day it happened. He couldn't say where it came from. It wasn't even a thought or a phrase that had ever crossed his mind.

They were in Scully's apartment. It was early morning, and the golden sunshine that was peeking through the window was making Scully look as though she was glowing. It made his heart hurt. He'd never seen her look more beautiful as she lay with mouth slightly open, eyes staring up at him so full of desire.

"Do you want me to make you pregnant?"

Scully gasped, and then a long moan escaped her lips as she nodded her head, followed by a cry of his name.

Mulder's orgasm was so powerful that day that he must have passed out, for one moment he was cuming, and the next he was lying heavily on top of Scully, her hands running up and down his back soothingly. He was crying.

* * *

It was six weeks later when Scully walked silently into the basement office and put a positive pregnancy test on the desk in front of him.

He looked between her and it for a long time, unable to gauge the look on her face.

They didn't talk about it at first, just like they didn't talk about the words they'd spoken during sex.

They didn't say a word to one another about it until the very first ultrasound, Scully's hand holding his tightly, her eyes watching him instead of the screen as though she was scared of what might be on it.

When she saw Mulder's tears, she finally turned to the screen.

Though the doctor gave them a period during which conception must have happened, they both knew the exact date, the exact moment, when their baby had come to be.

They didn't know how it had worked, why it had worked, but for once, neither questioned it. The truth was that sometimes the reason why didn't matter.


	13. Maternity

Skinner had caught Scully at just the right moment, it appeared. She had been stuck inside for the last 3 days for it was snowing heavily outside and William had a cold. She was on her third continual repeat of a children's movie and dying for adult conversation when the phone rang.

He wanted her in to do an autopsy. It had been months since she'd set foot in bureau, and she still had at least 2 months left of her maternity leave. Surely a day away from William wouldn't be too difficult. And they really needed her help.

After a short negotiation with her boss, Scully had called her mother to come look after the baby. The initial feeling of freedom as she left her apartment with no child in tow was short lived, however, when she was met with the freezing and wet conditions outside.

By the time she made it to the bureau headquarters Scully's clothes were damp, her hair was stuck to her head, the small amount of make-up she'd bothered to use was probably smeared, and her breasts were beginning to ache as it neared the time for William's mid-morning feed.

* * *

He glanced up, looked back at his work, and then quickly looked up again. His mind wasn't playing tricks on him. Dana Scully was walking through the office. Dana Scully was walking through the office wearing jeans, a t-shirt and flat shoes, a soaked jacket held in one hand which dripped steadily onto the floor.

"Agent Scully?!"

Scully's head flew up and she studied the man who was rapidly approaching her, but she couldn't quite conjure up his name. Instead, she opted for a guarded smile.

"I haven't seen you around for a while."

"I've been taking leave." Was all she offered, giving the elevator she'd been walking towards a glance.

"We thought perhaps you'd finally given the x-files and Mr Spooky the push."

This time Scully didn't offer a smile, even a humourless one. "Well, perhaps if you all spent more time focusing on your work and less time on Agent Mulder, you'd get as much work done as he does. Excuse me." She walked towards the elevator again, faster this time.

She was glad that it came empty. Once the doors closed, she let out a shaky, then pressed 'B'. The mirrored walls showed her what a mess she looked. She was used to seeing a smartly dressed woman in a suit, and now she looked almost dowdy. Another sigh left her lips.

The ride was quick, quicker than she remembered it being. Usually it felt like it took the rickety old thing hours to get down to the basement. Perhaps they'd finally fixed it in her absence.

The basement looked much the same. There was less lighting down here, and some that worked were flickering dangerously. The air felt thicker, and was laced with a scent she couldn't identify. Scully didn't spend long considering what it might be, though, and quickly made her way towards a familiar door.

John Doggett was the first to notice someone in the doorway. They'd left it ajar to try and help the air circulate, but the room was still stifling. Scully wasn't looking at him but at the floor, a single eyebrow raised at the mess of screwed up papers that littered it. "We couldn't find a bin. I'll go find a bin."

Mulder looked up towards John's voice in confusion, frowning as he rushed from the room until his eyes settled on Scully and the frown transformed into a smile. "Agent Scully! To what do we owe this pleasure?" He pushed himself up in his chair a little, eyes sparkling.

"Have you got Agent Doggett running around doing your dirty work for you? I suggested him working with you because I trust him, not because he's a good cleaner!"

Mulder opened his mouth to protest that he had actually cleaned up the night before, it just so happened there was a lot of mess today, but then something caught his eye. "You're wearing jeans."

"Mulder-"

"And flat shoes. And a t-shirt with…is that a stain on the shoulder?"

Scully turned her head with a frown, trying to see if there was a stain. "I think it's just from the rain. I got soaked coming in. I did put on one of my suits, but then-" Scully was cut off by mulder coming to stand in front of her, his hands moving around her, sliding under the white t-shirt and then back down, inching their way just a little below the waistband. "Really?" Scully asked with a smirk.

Mulder nodded, a smile lighting his face as he leant back just a little to admire her. "Casual looks good on you, Scully."

"You see me in casual clothes all the time."

"Well, technically usually you're naked, in those tiny pyjama shorts, or in a suit." Mulder pointed out, making Scully huff. As she was about to reply to him, Agent Doggett rushed in with a bin and began picking things up, causing the pair to separate reluctantly.

"You didn't bring the little guy with you?"

"Skinner asked me to come in and do an autopsy for the Jackson case." Scully offered, smoothing her t-shirt down with her hands and trying to ignore Mulder's sharp intake of breath at the move.

"I thought your maternity leave wasn't over for another couple of months." John offered conversationally as he watched Mulder take the soaked jacket from Scully's arm and hang it over one of the too hot air-vents.

"It isn't, but I was eager for some adult conversation." Scully offered with a slight smile. She didn't even respond when Mulder whipped a small towel from god knows where and began squeezing the water from her hair. It looked like a sweetly domestic scene and Doggett found himself looking away.

"Agent Mulder says he tells you all about our new case when he gets home every night. Apparently I'm not rational enough for him to work with."

"Exactly. Like I said, I need adult conversation and big foot sightings do not count as that." Scully responded.

"Have I told you about that time I got the foot casting of a sasquatch, Doggett?" Mulder began.

"And that's my cue to leave." Scully ducked away from Mulder's hands and turned towards the door.

"You never said why you came down here." Doggett called. Anything to distract Mulder from telling this story again.

"Oh, ah-" Scully turned back, her cheeks growing rosy. She liked John Doggett. She trusted him with her life. But that didn't mean it wasn't royally embarrassing to admit certain things in front of him. "I umm…I came to see if Mulder happened to have any of t-those round cotton things in his bag."

"Round cotton things?" Mulder asked, pulling his bag towards him. He had a bad habit of bringing random things from home in his bag. They were comforting, he supposed. The thought made him smile.

Scully muttered something quietly.

"Pardon?" Mulder asked, lifting his eyes.

"Nursing pads." Scully finally forced out. "It's time for William's feed."

"Be a little awkward to lactate over a dead body." Doggett laughed, hoping to lighten the mood. He judged wrongly, and Scully went an even deeper shade of scarlet. He supposed that she wasn't used to being thought of as a woman at the bureau. Here, she was Agent Scully. At home, she was plain old Dana. Not that Dana Scully could ever be plain old anything.

"Frohike managed to fix the old pump, I've got that." Mulder offered.

"You gave my breast pump to Frohike?!"

The use of the word breast was cue for Doggett to leave, and muttering something about lunch he disappeared from the room.

"He's good at fixing things." Mulder shrugged. "Do you want it or not?"

"Fine." Scully grumbled, holding out her hands.

Unfortunately for Doggett and Scully, John underestimated the time it might take, and when he returned to the office Mulder was nowhere to be seen, but Scully was sat in his chair eyes closed, one breast out and attached to the pump, the other one barely covered. When her eyes opened, he wasn't sure who blushed more.

* * *

"It's a natural thing Scully, there's nothing to be embarrassed about." Mulder offered later that day as he lay on the floor with their son, trying to entice him to finally roll over.

"So is urinating, but it doesn't mean you wouldn't feel weird if someone watched you do it." Scully pointed out with a grumble.

Hoping to change subjects, Mulder sat up a little to look at her. "Did you learn anything from the autopsy?"

"That I need to lose more baby weight because my scrubs didn't fit. Other than that, nothing."

"So go up a size." Mulder shrugged, not really understanding the problem. "I think you look fine. Perfect, even. I don't get an erection in public for just anyone, you know."

Scully had to laugh at this, finally moving down to join them on the floor. "Me in jeans really does it for you, huh?"

"I'm a weak man, Scully."

"I was wearing granny panties under them." Scully offered with a grin.

"Oh, Dana!" Mulder groaned, his head falling back.

"Uh-huh. And I also had that beige nursing bra on. The one that the left side doesn't always fasten properly on because you put it in the washing machine without putting it in a protective bag." Scully spoke through her giggles as she moved to straddle her partner.

"Oh god, stop talking so dirty before the boy goes to bed."

Scully laughed openly now. "And you know what else I had on?"

"Don't say it. Don't do it to me."

"A thermal vest."

"Oh, yeah, baby!"

Doggett, who had come round with an apology and a present for William, heard this cry, reddened for the second time that day and rushed back towards the elevator.


	14. First Vacation

Scully hummed happily. The warm sun was shining on her face and the world was completely silent but for the sound of the ocean lapping at her feet.

Well, the sound of the ocean and the occasional tap of a sunflower seed hitting the sand. Scully opened her eyes, squinting against the sun to look at the man beside her. He was sat beside her in the sand in nothing but a pair of board shorts and some sunglasses, looking into the distance with an unreadable expression on his face.

"…What're you thinking about?" Scully finally asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

Mulder turned his head, finishing the last of the seed in his mouth before he replied with a simple, "You."

"What about me?" Scully rolled onto her side now, a little frown on her forehead.

"You've known me for almost a decade now."

"I have." Scully confirmed when nothing was forthcoming.

"This is your first holiday in all that time, and yet you asked me to come with you."

Scully smiled now, turning to lie on her back again as she pulled her hat a little lower to prevent the sun getting in her eyes. "Well, my friends are always telling me that it's important to have a lot of sex on holiday, because that's the relaxing part."

"So I'm just a penis on legs for you?" Mulder asked.

Scully noted the hint of amusement in his voice. "…Kinda. Do you mind?"

"Not really." Mulder shrugged, settling down beside her in the sand and resting his head on her bag, cracking open another sunflower seed.

They were quiet for a while, then, both watching as the sun began to lower through the sky, growing almost impossibly larger and impossibly brighter before it finally started to fade. It was Scully who broke the silence as the sun dipped behind the horizon. "I asked you because you're my best friend."

Mulder turned his head to look at her, but said nothing.

"I know I work with you, and I practically live with you, and we do almost everything together, but we've never done this, have we? We've never been together with nothing important that we're doing or should be doing. I wanted to see if, when there was just us and nothing else, we would still feel the same way."

"And what conclusion have you come to?" Mulder asked softly.

"…I think, maybe…maybe now I'm ready to say it."

"Say what?" Mulder's voice came out almost as a whisper. She knew if she looked at him she would see the hope shining in his eyes.

"…I fucking hate when you eat those seeds."

There was silence for a few seconds before Mulder's laugh boomed out into the quiet, making Scully grin.

It was only later, as they ascended in the lift towards their room, that Scully offered with uncharacteristic nervousness, "You do…know how I feel about you, don't you?"

"Yeah." Mulder smiled, dropping a kiss to her temple. "I know."

Scully rested into his side with a happy sigh.

* * *

"Are you going to help at all?"

The next day found them in a boat. As soon as Scully had heard of the small island that housed only birds and no people, she was desperate to go there. Mulder was willing to do anything for her at that moment, when she'd smiled up at him sleepily, so he'd readily agreed. He had thought she would at least help with the rowing, though.

"Mm…nope." Scully smiled. She lounged back in a bikini, a large floppy had on her head, and one of Mulder's shirts covering her shoulders. She didn't even open her eyes when Mulder spoke, but finally did when the boat began to rock. She found him moving towards her on unsteady legs. "What are you doing?!"

"Scully, this is like one of those dreams I used to have, you resting there looking effortlessly sexy in one of my shirts. You expect me to stay here rowing for the next half an hour?" Mulder was forced to take a seat again as the boat rocked dangerously.

"I'm not…quite wearing just one of your shirts, Mulder." Scully pointed out, toying with the bikini bottom tie that rested on her hip. "But as there isn't anyone around, I suppose a little bit of naked sun bathing wouldn't hurt." The tie was undone in a second, followed quickly by the other side, and then her bikini top.

Mulder sat in stunned silence as Scully stretched out, now naked but for his open shirt, and then closed her eyes again.

The boat rocked again as he moved towards her, and a smile tugged at Scully's lips, followed by a yell and then a laugh as Mulder fell into the water. "I told you not to move!"

No one would have believed him back in the real world if he'd told them, of course. No one would believe straight-laced Special Agent Dana Scully had stripped on a boat. Sometimes Mulder didn't even believe it himself until he saw the freckles that adorned the soft skin below her breasts where she'd got sunburn. The spot he had spent hours lathering with aloe vera, feeling Scully's heart beating steadily below his fingers.

Nor would that believe that, as a sleepy Scully finally lay back in her own bed after their return to American soil, she told him with a smile that she loved him even more than vacations.

* * *

It had been impossible to get Mulder to take time off before that holiday, but now Scully found herself whisked away frequently. Always somewhere hot, always at least one of his shirts packed into her suitcase. She didn't mind one bit.


	15. Muffins

Scully dropped a kiss to William's head and continued to read softly, though she could tell he was almost asleep. He had seen less of the bad in people (or so she hoped) than his father, but William had inherited his tendency of having nightmares. He'd woken just as she was falling asleep, and it had taken her the best part of an hour to calm him down enough to sit quietly with her.

She was relieved when she heard the key in the lock, despite knowing William would wake fully again. Perhaps because of his own experience, Mulder always managed to comfort their son quickly. Brushing soft hair from William's forehead, Scully lowered her head to whisper "I think daddy is home."

Sleep heavy eyes opened, and William was soon clamouring down from his spot on the couch beside his mother and running full speed to the front door.

"Daddy!"

Scully smiled at the happiness in his voice.

"What are you doing up so late?!"

Mulder's voice drifted through to her, and she could imagine exactly how they were stood. William in his father's arms, his own chubby ones wrapped around Mulder's neck. She couldn't hear William's reply, but she heard Mulder's murmured voice and imagined him dropping a kiss to his son's temple.

But then William's reply sent cold shivers down her back.

"Who is she?"

Scully was on her feet in a second and out in the hallway another half a second later. Mulder's eyes lifted from William as soon as she appeared, already opening his mouth to explain.

"I don't want her here, Mulder." Reaching out, Scully pulled a protesting William back into her own arms.

"Scully, she needs my help." Mulder attempted, stepping forward, but he stopped when Scully held up a hand.

"Your help, not your family's help, so I do _not_ want her here!" With that, Scully turned on her heel and walked back into the front room, shutting the door with a loud bang.

"…could have gone better." Mulder nodded.

"You were expecting something different?" Diana asked.

"I was hoping."

"It's fine, Mulder. I will get a hotel room nearby, and-"

"The doctor said you needed supervision."

"Then come with me." Diana responded quickly.

Mulder looked between her and the closed door. At one time, he might have accepted that, at least as an option, but his life had changed now. "I will call Skinner and see if he can spare someone."

"Fox, I-"

"No arguments." Mulder was already pulling his phone out.

* * *

The peace that had settled over Scully earlier had now gone. She'd managed to get William back to sleep, but now she sat in the darkened room with her son in her arms straining to hear something from the front hall.

When the door finally opened hesitantly, Scully shut her eyes, hoping Mulder would think she was sleeping and leave them alone, but as she felt him intending to lift William from her arms, her voice shot out through clenched teeth. "Do not touch my son."

Mulder flinched and then pulled his hands away, instead sitting on the coffee table in front of his family. "She's gone."

"She shouldn't have been here in the first place."

"I know." Mulder sighed, lifting his hands to rub his face tiredly. "I wasn't thinking."

"I can tell."

…She's just had a baby."

"What?" It came out as a whisper as Scully opened her eyes to look at him through the darkness. She couldn't read his expression.

"I don't know all the details yet, but the baby was taken from the hospital." Mulder's eyes stayed on William.

"A boy or girl?" Scully asked softly, pulling William a little closer.

"Boy."

She nodded, reaching out a hand to touch his knee gently with her fingertips, unsure if he wanted comfort. "Do they know who took him?"

Mulder linked his fingers with Scully and finally lifted his eyes to hers. "It's nothing to do with…it was the father. The baby's father. Diana had refused him any contact."

"Where is she now?"

"Hotel a couple of streets over. Skinner sent Doggett to stay with her."

Scully drew in a deep breath, looking down at William for a moment before she said quietly, "I should go and see her."

"Scully, you don't need to do that. You don't work for the FBI anymore."

"No, I don't, but I'm a mother. That's why you brought her here tonight."

Mulder sighed but didn't deny it. He hadn't really been thinking. He just knew Scully would know how to calm the woman who was so distraught. "They wouldn't let her wait at the hospital. They've given her sedatives, but they said she needed to be supervised."

"…And you're sure it's nothing to do with the x-files or anything we've investigated?"

"The father is some guy she met at high school. They reconnected at the reunion. He doesn't even know about her work."

"…I will go and look after her." Scully finally released her hold on William, allowing Mulder to pick him up and pull him close.

She watched from the doorway for a short while, seeing Mulder breathing his son in, holding him tightly and taking what small amount of comfort he could from him.

"Mulder?"

His eyes lifted silently to hers again.

"I'm sorry I took him off you."

Mulder smiled faintly, walking towards her. He dropped a tender kiss to her temple before he carried on towards William's bedroom.

* * *

"Agent Scully." John's eyebrows rose when he greeted her at the hotel room door.

"It's plain old Dana Scully, now. Good to see you." Scully offered a warm smile.

"You'll never be plain old anything. Agent Mulder still gets people shaking in their boots by threatening to call you."

Scully gave a soft laugh. "Glad to hear my reputation has stood the test of time. I umm…I've come to see Diana."

Agent Doggett stepped aside, gesturing further into the room. "She's on the bed, but she's not talking much."

"I'm not surprised." Scully responded as she walked hesitantly into the darkened room. "…Diana?"

Diana turned to look at her, but said nothing.

"…I collected this from the hospital. I know it's not much, but I thought it might bring some comfort." Scully held out a pale blue blanket. "From his crib."

Though Diana shed no tears, her eyes grew shiny as she reached out, then drew the fabric to her face. Scully had been given sedatives often enough to know that even if it was difficult to bring emotions to the surface, inside was usually whirring with unanswerable questions and pain.

They sat in silence together for a long time, then, the only noise the quiet television that Doggett sat in front of. It was Diana who finally spoke, her voice hoarse. "I always thought I would have a child with Fox."

Scully lowered her head, biting back her immediate possessive response. Instead, she drew in a deep breath and nodded.

Diana was studying her now. She could feel it.

"…He doesn't work on the x-files anymore."

"No. He left just after William was born." Scully offered softly.

"He always said it was the most important thing in his life. That nothing would ever be more important or need him more."

Scully didn't want to talk about Mulder, or about William, with this woman, but she forced herself to talk. "He said to me that when Samantha was abducted, he lost a family. He wanted answers, and he wanted his family back. But now he has a new family. It doesn't lessen the guilt or the pain of Samantha's loss, but he has come to believe that she would want him happy." She didn't tell her Mulder's actual words, though. They were too precious. She could still picture him standing in the rain, having to yell to get his voice above the noise. He'd looked so excited that for a moment she'd wondered if he finally had the proof he'd been searching for. It turned out he did. _I've been searching my whole life for something to believe in, Scully, and It helped me find what I needed all along. I found you. I needed you. I believe in you!_

"…Dana Scully, the woman who tamed Fox Mulder."

Scully gave a humourless smile. "I didn't tame him. I didn't change him. I asked nothing of him."

Diana studied her again before looking down at the blanket in her own hands, rubbing her thumb across the fabric. "Tell me about your son."

"….No." Scully responded after a pause. "I came here because Mulder is worried about you, and I understand what it feels like to be frightened for your child."

"Is Fox a good father?"

"Yes."

"..Does he still disappear sometimes because of a hunch?"

"Sometimes, yes."

"Are you angry with him when he gets back?"

"...No."

"Why not?"

Scully sighed again, wondering why she had decided to come here. "Because he needs to do it. I understand that. All I ask is that he calls me once a day, and he has managed to do that. I also ask that he brings nothing of his work home with him." Scully lifted her head to give Diana a pointed look, and the brunette immediately looked away.

"..I called him because he's the only one I knew who would care. I've cut a lot of ties, I know that. I've…alienated, for lack of a better word, a lot of people. I was trying to do what was best for me without thinking of how others might get hurt. Except now-"

"Now you have someone else to think about."

Diana nodded at Scully's words.

"…Would you like me to send Mulder here?" Scully offered hesitantly.

Diana lifted her eyes, looking almost hopefully, but finally shook her head, drawing the blanket to her nose once more.

* * *

Mulder was on his feet as soon as Scully walked through the door the next morning, studying her face for signs of what, she didn't know.

"How's William?"

"He woke once and asked for his teddy, but he's been fast asleep since 2." Mulder began searching her eyes.

"Did you hear the news?" Scully gave a tired sigh.

"Skinner called to tell me." Mulder nodded. "He said the baby is fine."

"I double checked him myself, at Diana's request. He is a little dehydrated, but he'll be okay." Scully pressed one hand against the wall so she could reach down and slip one, then another shoe off. "I need to go to bed."

Mulder nodded and followed her to the bedroom, but stayed in the doorway. After Scully had slipped off her clothes and pulled her usual nightwear over her head, she turned tiredly to him. "What is it?"

"What did she say to you?"

"A lot and not much. She asked about you. What you're like as a father."

"I hope you didn't tell her about that time I fainted over a full diaper."

Scully smiled as she climbed into bed, nestling into her pillow. "That's our secret."

"She didn't upset you?"

"…No. I thought she might, but she didn't. She couldn't. She got to me before because I didn't know where I stood with you, but now I do." Scully shut her eyes but reached out a hand to him, glad when he entered the room and slid into bed beside her.

"You're my second favourite person in the whole world." Mulder whispered into her hair, smiling when she gave a sleepy laugh.

"Is it wrong to be jealous of my son?" Scully's voice was heavy with sleep.

"He's my third favourite, actually. The one to be jealous of is that barista who keeps giving me a free muffin with my coffee."

Scully gave another soft laugh, dropping a kiss to Mulder's chest. How easy it was for them to joke these days. They'd seen the darkness, they'd felt the darkness, but together, they seemed to be able to shine so brightly that the darkness could no longer penetrate their lives.

"'m gonna divorce you if you get fat from all these free muffins."

"We're not even married."

"Mm, good point. Guess I'm stuck with you and your pot belly, then."

"Guess so." Mulder dropped a kiss to her hair.

"Love you, M'der." Scully whispered sleepily.

"I love you, too, Dana Katherine Scully."

Scully smiled and allowed sleep to claim her.

* * *

When Mulder arrived home from work the next day, he found the kitchen was an absolute mess of flour, but on the table were two dozen still warm muffins in front of a grinning Dana Scully. "24 muffins, just for you."

William didn't quite understand the joke, but he still laughed when his laughing father picked his mother up and twirled her around then dropped kisses all over her face, asking her to marry him.

He knew that his mother's tears were happy ones, though.


	16. I believe

Scully had been terrified of giving birth the second time. While the baby was still inside she would be so much easier to protect, but Scully also feared that she would struggle to bond with the baby, knowing that she'd voluntarily given William up and might be forced to do the same with his sister.

They bonded, though. Scully had refused to let anyone, even Mulder, hold the baby for the first two days. When she did sleep, she was woken with nightmares of being in complete darkness unable to find her family.

As the months passed, though, so did her fears. The baby showed no signs of any special ability, no one had come out of the woodwork to try anything.

This brought a new worry for Scully, though. How, if she ever met him, would she explain to William about keeping his sister but not him? Nightmares began again, though different this time. Now there were no monsters, just a TV screen showing Scully and her baby laughing and William sat watching it with tears of anguish on his cheeks.

Scully had chosen not to return to her FBI posting after the birth. Maybe one day she would be drawn back. In fact, it was probably inevitable, but right now she was happy at home looking after her child. Occasionally she would offer advice to those in the FBI lab when they were stuck (usually on one of Mulder's cases), but even then she always had the baby strapped to her chest in a baby carrier. It became an almost common sight, the petite redhead with the baby. On the odd occasion she appeared empty handed, Fox Mulder was always close behind toting the child. Some wondered if it was ever put down.

* * *

"SCU-" Mulder began to yell, but his voice was cut off by a hand slapping over his mouth, and a voice hissing in his ear.

"If you yell one more time after I've just got her to sleep, I swear I will rip your testicles off one at a time and then make you eat them."

"…Kinky." Mulder offered as the hand moved away. "Have you seen my watch?"

"No. Where did you last have it?"

"Ammy kept sucking on it, so I took it off. I thought I put it here." He pointed to the empty side board, then began looking around again.

"What did you do after that?"

"..I went to make you a coffee, so I-" Mulder turned, giving a grin when he saw Scully open the fridge to reveal his watch sitting pride of place next to the milk. "Well, will you look at that. Magic."

"How much sleep did you get last night?"

"I got in at about 1, then stayed awake to feed Ammy at 2, then got up again at 7 with her." Mulder shrugged, grabbing the watch from her.

"So you're going to go to work, on a day you're not even expected to work, on probably about 4 hours sleep?" Scully raised an eyebrow.

"I'm just going to get some files, I'm not going to get involved in anything else, I promise." Mulder reached past her to grab his coffee cup, drinking the last remaining liquid. "Why don't you two head to the weird vegan café you like once she wakes up, and I'll meet you there for lunch? I fancy a tofu burger on gluten free bread with a side of Brussel sprout chips."

"Mulder, for one it's-" Scully began her favourite rant, but seeing the smirk appear on her partner's face she cut it off. "Oh, go away. I'll see you there at 1. Don't be late."

"Goodbye kiss?"

"No."

Of course, the moment the front door opened, Scully was in front of him giving him a kiss. Their new motto was to never part whilst angry with one another. This had led to a few novel trips to the Hoover building with Scully striding in after Mulder looking furious, and Mulder looking as though he had a gun pointed at his head. "I'll see you soon."

Mulder smiled properly now, bending to capture her lips again. "Wear those sweats with the hole in the knee. You know what domestic Scully does to me."

"Go away." Scully repeated, this time with a laugh.

* * *

Just before 1pm that day Scully was grinning down at her daughter who was apparently soaked in spit after the short walk here chewing on her favourite teething toy. For once Scully had used the jogging stroller Mulder used to take his daughter with him on his early morning run rather than the baby carrier, and was glad of the space below it where she'd stored clean bibs. She was changing the old for a new one when she saw someone walk through the door. Not Mulder, but Skinner. Her heart sank. "Sir."

Skinner sat opposite her offering the baby a smile. "I see she's got a tooth coming through."

"What's happened?"

Skinner looked up, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Mulder was supposed to meet me here. If you're here instead of him-" Scully couldn't finish her sentence.

Skinner immediately looked apologetic, something she wasn't used to seeing. "He told me he was meeting you here for lunch, so I thought I'd come by to say hello."

"So he's okay?"

"Last I saw him he was photocopying that poster from your office because he wanted one for Amelia's room."

Scully rolled her eyes but was unable to supress her smile. "That doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Would you like to join us?"

"Ah, no. Thank you, but no. I just came to beg you, for the hundredth time, to come back to work so I'm not the only one around who can, at least partially, control your partner."

Scully gave a wider smile at this. "He said he's dialled things back a bit."

"He lied."

"The new agent?"

"Thinks the sun shines out of Mulder's arse."

"I'll think about it." Was all Scully offered. It was what she said every time.

Though Walter went to continue, they were interrupted by a man swooping down suddenly with a huge grin on his face, pulling a still dribbling Amelia from her chair as she squealed delightedly, to drop kisses all over her face.

Skinner was torn between grimacing at the long line of drool that now adorned Mulder's shirt and the clear display of love being played out in front of him. "That's probably my cue to leave."

"It was good to see you, Walter." Scully smiled.

"You, too, Dana.'

"Who's Dana?" He heard Mulder asking Ammy as he left the café. "Who's this Dana, hey? I think Mummy has too many names! I think we should stick with mommy and Scully, don't you?"

"Mulder." Scully gave a weary sigh, though her eyes sparkled. "Sit down and stop being silly. I've ordered for you already, and don't give me that look."

* * *

And gradually, Scully stopped having nightmares, she stopped being scared. Life changed for her. It became happy.

She loved to come home to find Amelia throwing her arms wide and crying happily, "MOMMY!" She loved to watch Amelia and Mulder playing together for hours, the child in him finally set free. She loved those nights when all three of them would curl up together on the couch and she'd tell them both all about William, and how one day he would come back to them. Amelia liked the idea of a big brother. Scully also loved that Mulder's gaze at her never changed, never wavered or faltered. He had seen her through so many horrible things, and yet he still looked like he was amazed that she even existed, that she loved him back.

Her favourite time in the whole world, though, was going to the grocery store as a family. She always felt a tingle of warm happiness beginning in her belly when they parked out the front. Doing something so simple and normal and safe together. Mulder would push the cart and Amelia would sit in it directing him. Every so often, she would put something in the cart herself, giggling loudly because she thought her parents hadn't noticed.

Sometimes Scully would find herself pushing the cart, Mulder behind her with a hand on either side of hers, forcing them to walk slow shuffling steps as Amelia told them all about her day.

It was there, in the store, when Scully first found out that Amelia was different, that she did have a power of sorts. Scully had been hoping to get in and out and had only taken a basket, making Amelia complain because she loved rides in the cart.

"But we need to be quick, because we want to get home before Daddy so we can make him something nice for dinner." Scully replied. Daddy was the favourite parent at the moment, and this was sure to convince the girl.

Amelia thought for a moment and then gave a nod. "Okay, but we need to get some red licorice."

"Why red licorice?" Scully asked with a laugh.

"It's William's favourite. I want to make sure we have some for when he comes home."

"…Sweetheart, William-" Scully began.

"We talk all the time. He likes red licorice best, but he also likes oreos. His 'doptive mom won't let him eat them, but he eats them at friend's houses." Amelia picked up some licorice and dropped it into the basket before lifting her eyes to her stationary mother. "Mommy?"

"..How does he talk to you, sweetheart?" Scully managed.

"Just in my head. He knows he's a big brother, and sometimes he helps me with my homework."

Scully swallowed and then licked her lips. "Will you…if you talk to him again, will you tell him that his mo…that I love him?"

"He knows." Amelia gave with an unconcerned shrug. "he can hear when you talk to him, but he can't talk back."

Scully wanted so desperately to believe. Never in her life had she wanted so desperately to believe.

* * *

"Isn't it a good thing?" Mulder asked a few hours later as they lay in bed.

"I don't know." Scully mumbled into her pillow. "It makes me scared."

"I don't think there's anything to be scared about. I think it means that if William needs us, we have a way to find out where he is. And that means that right now he is safe and he knows we love him." Mulder stroked the hair from her face.

"I want to believe, Mulder. I so want to believe."

"Then believe."

Scully rolled onto her back to search his face in the darkness.

She had another nightmare that night, the same one she'd had on and off for years. Of losing all her family in the darkness and not being able to find them. This time, though, the voice of a boy broke through the deafening silence. "Why don't you turn the light on?"

Scully reached blindly out, surprised to feel a switch below her palm. When she turned the light on, there they were. Mulder, Amelia and William sat together on the couch. Though Mulder and Amelia were fast asleep, William smiled up at her and reached out, and soon she was on the couch, too, stroking his hair as he watched cartoons. "Love you, mommy." His lips didn't move, but she knew it was he who had spoken.

"We love you too, sweetheart."

* * *

"Amelia, please just eat your breakfast. You liked that cereal yesterday." Scully attempted.

"I don't want it!" she pushed the bowl away angrily.

"Why are you so grouchy this morning?" Mulder asked, catching the bowl before it fell off the table before setting it firmly in front of her again.

"William said he and mommy watched cartoons together last night, but they didn't come and get me." Amelia folded her arms.

Scully's head snapped up and she stared at her daughter. "What cartoon?"

"Rugrats. My favourite."

Scully glanced at Mulder and then sat down beside her daughter. "You were there, baby, but you were asleep. So was your daddy. He was doing that realllllly loud snoring he does."

Amelia's lip twitched at this. "So you don't remember watching cartoons either, daddy?"

"Nope." Mulder was mystified about what was going on. "What exactly-"

"I believe, Mulder." Scully gave him a brilliant smile and then kissed him before picking up Amelia and twirling her around until she began laughing. "I believe!"


	17. Father

Mulder jumped when the phone on the table rang. In all his time here it had never rung, but now, just as he walked beside it, it began to its shrill noise. No one had the number, it wasn't on any register. Who could possibly be calling? He'd only installed in on Scully's insistence.

 _Scully_ his mind yelled. Scully was the only person who had the number, and she would only use it in an emergency. He quickly grabbed the receiver. "Scully?"

"Why do you sound breathless?" Were her first words.

"I went for a jog around the perimeter to check the fence. Are you okay?" He glanced up at the clock, surprised to see it was almost midnight.

"I'm fine." Scully replied instantly, toying with the end of her stethoscope.

"…If someone is there with you, use our old code word in a sentence." Mulder urged. When Scully replied, he could hear the smile in her voice.

"I'm fine, Mulder. I just wanted to hear your voice."

Mulder pushed air through his nostrils, not entirely convinced.

"I am fine, honestly. It's just been a long day."

"…When will it finish?" Mulder wanted to ask when she'd come 'home', but more often than not these past few weeks she seemed to stay away.

"I'm not sure." Scully sighed, looking down at the paperwork that covered her desk. She'd left the FBI which had often included completing Mulder's paperwork as well as her own, but somehow she seemed to have even more paperwork now. "A young boy was brought in earlier."

Mulder nodded his head. Now he understood why she'd called.

"Is he really sick?" He asked softly.

"No. No, he was in a car accident and broke his arm and a few ribs, but he will be okay."

Mulder nibbled his bottom lip before saying gently. "It won't be William, Scully."

There was a sigh on the other end of the phone, though he couldn't tell if it was irritation or just tiredness. "I know. Unless you have some Chinese heritage you haven't told me about."

"Then why has he got to you?"

Scully toyed her with pen, eyes lifting to the photo of Mulder that sat on her desk. It usually sat in the safe, only brought out when she felt overwhelming need to feel grounded. Despite all that Mulder believed and chased after, he always managed to make her feel grounded. "He was with his father. His father hadn't been driving, the child minder was, but the father just dropped his work and rushed straight to the accident. He managed to keep him calm through all the tests just by telling him stories. The boy was fascinated and barely noticed us doing anything."

"...Isn't that what a father is supposed to do? I don't understand, Scully."

Scully stroked her finger down the cheek of the Mulder in the photo. Below it, tucked into the frame, was a photo of William. "It made me think of you. How you would be as a father. You would have been wonderful, Mulder. You would have been just like this father. You could have been if I hadn't-"

"No. Scully, don't do this to yourself again. You did the best for William. Somewhere he _will_ have a dad like that. If I'd been there with you, we would have made the same decision. You chose to keep our son safe, and that is the most important thing any parent can do." Mulder urged, already reaching for his car keys.

Scully let out another sigh, rubbing her forehead. "I know. I know. I'd better get back to work."

"Scully?"

"Mm?"

"I love you. Both of you."

"…I love you both, too." Scully whispered back. She couldn't remember when they had begun including William when they said they loved one another, but somehow it was calming, as though he knew they were saying it.

* * *

"Dr Scully?" A nurse cornered her two hours later as she walked from surgery with aching legs. "Dr Scully, your brother is in your office."

"My brother?" Scully frowned, glancing towards the office door before she gave the nurse a distracted smile. Bill would never visit her here, he hated hospitals. And as for Charlie, he wouldn't show up out of the blue. "Thank you for letting me know."

Before the nurse could even reply, Scully was rushing towards her office.

* * *

Mulder woke, unsure where he was for a moment until her caught the scent of something familiar. Disinfectant. "Scully?" He asked sleepily.

"You're my brother? That's a new one."

Mulder smiled faintly as he opened his eyes. He was lying on the couch in her office, and Scully now rested in his arms with her face buried in his sweatshirt. "I figured you'd told everyone about your family, but probably not about your reclusive partner."

Scully smiled, pulling back only a little to gaze at him. "What are you doing here? Someone could recognise you."

She didn't correct him about the partner thing, so he guessed that was positive. "They could, but I thought your need for me was a bit more important at the time."

Scully didn't deny she needed him, just gave a simple nod and buried her face again. "I did. I always do."

Mulder dropped a kiss to her hair, causing a soft giggle to erupt from Scully's lips. "Scratchy beard."

"Why don't we go home and you can shave it off for me." Mulder whispered in her ear.

Scully nodded, but pressed herself more tightly against him. "Five more minutes, and then you can drive me home."

* * *

No one, including the man himself, would say Mulder was thoughtful or romantic. Often when he did make an overt gesture it was because he was after something. Not that he'd been after much of late.

But when Scully entered her office for her next shift, she found Mulder's jacket hanging haphazardly over the back of her chair. With a faint smile, she drew it to her nose and breathed him in. The heaviness of the jacket made her slip her hands into the pockets, and inside, she found several bars of the dark chocolate she adored, and a slightly crinkled newspaper cutting of a case she'd had once where she'd managed to save a boy others said couldn't be saved. Things he knew would cheer her up when he'd come the night before.

Smiling to herself, she picked up her phone and pressed speed dial. "...Mulder, I finish at 6. Is there anything you want me to bring home for dinner?"


	18. A normal family

Scully hummed with happiness when Mulder climbed into bed beside her. The room was cold but the bed was warm, and with Mulder's added body heat it felt perfect.

Unsure if his bedfellow was asleep or not, Mulder moved his head forward just a little to kiss her shoulder blade before he snuggled up behind her whispering, "Goodnight."

Scully gave no reply, enjoying the waves of sleepiness than began to wash over her, the feeling of Mulder's warm breath in her hair, the smell of his soap.

Yet sleep didn't come. As she heard Mulder's breathing even out, she found herself laying with eyes open staring into the darkness.

Though she didn't move or make a sound, Mulder's breathing soon became erratic again and he wriggled a little behind her before his groggy voice spoke. "You're thinking awfully loudly tonight."

Scully gave the darkness a faint smile. "Sorry."

"What are you thinking about?" Mulder stroked Scully's hair behind her ear and then pushed himself up onto his elbow so he could see her face.

"Nothing. Everything."

"Want to think out loud for a bit and see if I can help?"

Scully smiled again at this offer, moving just a little so she was lying on her beck looking up at her partner sadly. "It's not always going to be like this, is it?"

"Like what?"

"This…happy. This normal. When nothing is going wrong, and no one is trying to hurt us or people we love, and life is almost stress free." Scully sighed, closing her eyes.

Mulder smiled affectionately, stroking Scully's jaw with his fingers. "Shouldn't we try to enjoy it while it lasts, then?"

Scully blew air from her nostrils and opened her shining eyes. "I'm trying."

"I know." Mulder soothed, leaning down to kiss her gently.

* * *

"But I haven't _got_ any homework!" Were the first words Scully woke to. She was still wrapped tightly into the cocoon of blankets Mulder had wrapped around her in the night.

"You said that last weekend and I got a call from your teacher, so yesterday I took the liberty of looking through your school bag." Came Mulder's terse response, apparently about to lose his patience.

That's not fair! You're not allowed to do that!" The voice bellowed back.

"Well, I did, and I found your English work, so you can go out with your friends _after_ you finish your homework."

"I _hate you!"_ Came a yell that made Scully flinch. Apparently the person who yelled felt the same pang, for a moment later, there was sniffling and the voice spoke again. It was muffled this time, probably pressed into Mulder's t-shirt. "I don't."

"I know." Mulder reassured. "You go and do your homework and I'll take you to meet your friends as soon as you're done, okay? As long as there will be a parent there to supervise you."

Scully was straining to hear the reply he got when another voice, much closer, startled her. "They've been fighting all morning."

Scully shuffled in the bed and then peered over the edge to find a young boy playing with his Lego on the floor. "Why?"

William gave a sigh, beginning to undo the pieces he'd just put together before he offered a shrug. "How come you're still in bed?"

Scully rubbed her face and looked up at the clock. It was almost midday, the longest she'd slept in in years. "I don't know. How come you're playing down here?"

"I was making you something nice to wake up to." William offered, finally looking up as his mother reached out to brush hair from his eyes. "Daddy said the baby kept you awake dancing to rock and roll."

Scully gave a soft snort, moving to lie on her back for a moment before she pushed herself up to sitting and then swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Your daddy was singing rock and roll, but I think maybe the baby was trying to make him stop."

William smiled at this, well aware of his father's voice by now. "I'm trying to make a special baby bed out of Lego so when it wakes you up, you can take it out of your tummy and put it in the bed for a while."

"That's so thoughtful of you, sweetheart. Thank you. I'm not sure it will work, though. The baby has to stay inside just a little bit longer." Scully bent to kiss his hair, only just able to now with a baby belly in the way, before she stood and walked towards the bathroom.

"Emily hates the baby."

Scully stilled in the doorway before turning back to her son. "Why do you say that?"

"That's why her and daddy were yelling." He supplied.

Scully's eyes turned to movement in the doorway, finding an apologetic looking Emily stood there, English homework in one hand and glass of water in the other.

"Mum, I-" She began, words dying in her mouth as her mother simply turned, walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

* * *

"Scully, can I come in?"

"I'm fine."

"I'm sure you are, but let me come in anyway." Mulder called through the door, having been in the middle of making her something to eat when two panicked children had rushed into the room. Scully had been overly emotional for the past few weeks, pregnancy taking a toll on her. More than once he'd had no negotiate her out of the bathroom.

Knowing he wouldn't let up, Scully finally undid the lock from her perch on the closed toilet seat, continuing to stare at her ultrasound as Mulder walked in and crouched in front of her.

"She didn't mean it, Scully."

"I know."

"Then what's up?" He asked gently, relieved when she let him take the ultrasound from her fingers to look at it himself. "I know you know what the sex is, I wish you'd tell me."

Scully smiled then, shaking her head. "You told me you didn't want to know."

Mulder smiled back, his eyes lifting to hers again before he cocked his head questioningly.

"…I've just been so worried that she would feel that way, Mulder. You know what she was like when William came along. For so long I told her I couldn't carry another child, and now that I am she must feel like I lied to her, but I can't explain it to her because I don't know myself."

"She'll get over it. She adores William now, doesn't she? Well, most of the time."

"I know I missed out on her first few years, but I was hoping I'd made up for it. I can't though, can I? She's always going to resent that time and I don't know how to fix it. I can't fix it." Scully reached up, brushing away her tears. "I feel like I'm rubbing her face in it again with this baby. I want it so much, Mulder, I do, but maybe-"

"Don't say it, Scully."

"But what if-"

"Mummy?" Came a slightly whining voice through the door, followed by a sniff. A moment later the door opened a little and Emily slipped through, immediately moving to her mother, sitting on the floor and hugging her middle as Scully stroked her hair. "I didn't mean it."

"I know, sweetheart." Scully soothed, looking up to see William in the doorway looking curious.

"Come on, buddy. Pancakes for lunch?" Mulder questioned as he stood up and walked William from the room, giving Scully what he hoped was a comforting smile.

Mother and daughter sat this way for a long time, but when Emily's sobs finally quietened Scully ventured to ask, "It's a bit weird talking about this in the bathroom, isn't it?"

Emily gave a sob and a laugh at the same time, pulling back. Her hair was plastered to her face by her tears, and her eyes were red. "Maybe we should move it to the bedroom?"

Scully nodded, helping her daughter up before they walked arm in arm to sit on the edge of the bed, Scully momentarily amused to find William's Lego baby bed sitting pride of place on top of the pillows. Taking a deep breath, she attempted to comfort her daughter. "I'm sorry, Emily. I-"

"I wasn't upset about the baby. I just said that to Dad because he wouldn't let me go to the mall with my friends." Emily sniffed.

"Well, that wasn't very nice, was it?" Emily shook her head miserably. "And I think you probably owe him an apology."

"You really feel bad that you weren't there when I was little?" Emily asked quietly.

"Yes." Scully answered honestly.

"..I always think it's kind of a cool story. That I got sick and you saved me. Some people have kids and don't want them, but I know for definite you want me because you saved my life."

Scully smiled now, brushing hair from her daughter's face. "I've never thought about it like that before."

"And even thought dad isn't my birth dad, he is more annoying than all my friend's fathers, so I guess that makes up for it."

"He is pretty annoying sometimes, hey?" Scully replied with a gentle laugh, nudging Emily's shoulder with her own. Emily had been a daddy's girl until she'd hit 7 and now apparently Mulder was no longer the favourite parent...unless Emily was unwell, and then it was straight to her father's arms.

"I know I wasn't very nice when William was born, but I'm older now. I'm almost an adult."

Scully smiled wryly at this, but still moved forward to kiss her daughter on the forehead. "How about you try not to say the 'h' word about anyone from now on, even when they've upset you?"

Emily nodded, hugging her mother once more.

* * *

"Chocolate pancakes for _lunch?_! Mulder!" Scully exclaimed as she entered the kitchen a short while later.

Though Mulder was looking at her warily, he covered it by acting jovially, soon having both children laughing. When Scully approached him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest, Mulder dropped a kiss to her hair. "What is it you were worrying about last night? Everything going smoothly and nothing going wrong?"

"Mm, well maybe I jumped the gun a bit with that thought." Scully smiled, reaching out to pick up a stray choc chip from the counter. "I should have known that there will never be any peace in a house with three Mulders."

"Don't know what you mean. Us Mulder's are a relaxed, happy-go-lucky bunch, aren't we kids?"

They heartily agreed as they rushed their father to get the pancakes he'd made, Scully gripping him as though she was in the middle of a stampede.

"You two better not get used to this sort of food, because as soon as I give birth to this giant headed Mulder baby, I'm back on kitchen duties." Scully shot at them, though she nabbed a warm pancake for herself and bit into it hungrily.

* * *

Scully was wrapped warmly in a burrito of blankets, but gave a happy sigh when Mulder finally joined her in bed and wrapped her in warm arms. "Toasty warm."

Mulder dropped a kiss to her hair, rubbing her arms. "Do you think you'll be able to sleep tonight?"

Scully nodded, eyelids already beginning to droop, waves of sleep washing over her.

It was as Mulder's breathing began to even out that Scully's voice spoke suddenly into the darkness. "Mulder?"

"Mm?"

"…Will you go and make me some more chocolate pancakes? With peanut butter chips in them. And a glass of orange juice. And maybe a banana if we have any. Oh, and a hot chocolate with marshmallows. The pink ones, not the white ones." As Mulder grumbled and pushed himself from the bed to walk towards the door, Scully continued, "And maybe some cheese. Have we got any cheese? A string cheese sounds SO good right now. Also, have we got any- Mulder? Mulder?! Come back, I haven't finished!"


	19. A normal day

**"I wish that for once I could just have a normal day!"**

The words Scully had cried in frustration earlier that day were still reverberating around Mulder's head, making it impossible to sleep. It was him who had brought all this pain, this fighting into her life. He could never wish her away, even silently in his head, because he needed her, but sometimes, just sometimes, he hoped she would walk away from him. How much nicer, how much simpler her life would be. But he was too weak to walk away himself, and she, for some reason he couldn't fathom, didn't want to leave.

* * *

Scully's head throbbed as she opened her eyes. She'd barely managed to sleep the night before, and the wine she had consumed had made her tongue dry. What might it be like to have a partner, just for time's like this. Someone she could curl into and forget the world with. Someone to bring her water and toast. But Scully was alone in bed, so she gradually forced herself onto still tired legs and pulled her robe tight around her waist. Here's hoping she actually had something in the kitchen to have for breakfast.

A knock at her door made her groan. The neighbour across the hall always seemed to known when she was home and would conveniently be out of coffee and would need to borrow some despite there being a convenience store a block away. Perhaps she should answer the door with her gun in her hand, that would certainly put him off knocking again.

The thought made her give a tired smile as she walked towards the door, her footsteps faltering as a voice suddenly called out-

"Yo Scully! I've got a key and I'm not afraid to use it. I know you've got short legs, but this is ridi-" That was as far as Mulder got before a glaring Scully ripped open the door, yanked him inside, slammed the door and then turned her glare back onto him. "…Good morning?"

"How many times do I have to tell you about my neighbour! You know I don't like him to know when I'm home!" She hissed her words, already taking one of the offered coffee cups from the tray Mulder proffered.

He looked slightly taken aback by this. How the hell had he already pissed her off when he'd come here hoping to cheer her up. New tactic, Mulder. "I've got bagels!"

"…What sort?" Scully eyed the bag suspiciously.

"Blueberry. They're still warm."

Scully huffed, torn, but finally her hunger won out and she nodded silently, taking the bag from him before walking towards the couch.

"Actually, I thought we could eat at the table?"

Scully stilled then turned slowly towards him. "Are you feeling alright?"

Mulder cleared his throat and looked anywhere but at the red head. "I just thought a flat, hard surface might be easier for us to map our plans on."

" _Plans?"_

"I thought…we could start off at the farmer's market and pick up a few things for dinner, and then maybe head to the lake for lunch. There's that vineyard nearby, so after lunch we could go and pick a wine to have with dinner, and then we could…come back here and make it?"

Scully was staring at him now as though he had two heads. Maybe he did.

"…Or, or we could… you could go back to bed and have a lie in, then we could go to the museum. Or maybe the store. I have a dental appointment due, we could do that, too. I could get an emergency appointment."

Scully definitely thought he was mad now.

"..Scully, what do you think?"

"I think…I think I truly believe in aliens. Have you hit your head, Mulder? Are you feeling sick?" Scully rushed towards him, bagels in her hand momentarily forgotten as she went to put a hand to his forehead.

Mulder's hand caught hers before she could touch him. "I've not…not had many of these myself, so I'm not sure I'm doing this right."

"Doing what, Mulder? You're scaring me."

"You wanted a normal day, Scully. I want to give you a normal day."

He could almost see the thoughts whirring through her head, being caught and then flying away again. Her startled blue eyes trapped him in her gaze for a long time before she finally looked away, down at the floor.

"Scully?" It came out as a whisper, as though he was afraid .

"I think we should eat on the couch. That's more normal for us, isn't it?"

 _Us._ Mulder nodded.

* * *

An hour later Mulder found himself walking through a throng of people at the fete, children darting in and out of any space they could find. The sun was warm on his back, but a cool breeze stopped him from feeling overheated. All in all, he thought, this was probably the best day of his life.

"Mulder!" Scully caught his hand, tugging him towards a stall. Gone were the business suit he was used to seeing her, replaced with jeans and a t-shirt. If Mulder was brave enough to look at her feet again after the first time he had noticed, he would see that she was also wearing baseball shoes. "I love this jam. My sister in law gave me a pot a couple of years ago for Christmas. I think I brought you some over, do you remember?" Scully was quickly distracted by all the flavours and didn't wait for an answer as she waved the owner over. "Do you take card?"

"Sorry." Was the only answer she was given.

Mulder saw this new Scully deflating before his eyes. He couldn't let that happen.

When Scully saw Mulder hold out a note, her face split into a grin. "Do you mind? I'll pay you back."

"No need, just let me taste some of the jam." Mulder smiled awkwardly.

"I'll even make you the toast to spread it on."

Then she did it. Scully stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. This was definitely what heaven felt like.

* * *

A short time later Scully was strolling next to Mulder with her hand in his as though it was the most normal thing in the world. It _felt_ like the most normal thing in the world. Every so often she would squint up at him and smile. "I like this."

"Me, too." Mulder replied, a smile briefly on his lips before Scully made a sudden U-turn and pulled her hands from his, apparently fascinated by a children's hat stand. "Scully?"

"Dana Scully! I thought it was you!" A woman appeared suddenly, pulling Scully into her arms for a hug, though Scully stood limply. "I never see you around anymore!"

"Ah, busy a lot." Was Scully's only response.

"We should make plans to catch up." The woman's voice was so enthusiastic that Mulder decided Scully might throttle her if he didn't step in.

"Dana, we should get going." He placed a hand on her lower back. He wasn't sure why he'd called her by her christian name, but the look of relief told him it was the right thing to do.

"Yeah, sorry, umm… Lisa. We have-" Scully attempted.

"Who is this?" Lisa lowered her sunglasses to look Mulder up and down. "Dana Scully, you sly fox."

"I'm the sly fox, actually. Fox Mulder." Mulder held out a hand.

"Your name is definitely fitting." Lisa flirted, forgetting all about Scully.

Mulder, however, hadn't forgotten about her. "We should head off."

"Back to the kids?"

"We…ah…we don't have any children." Scully replied for them, unsure why she didn't just address Lisa's incorrect thought on their relationship.

"Yet." When Mulder replied, Scully's eyes flew up to his face. "But I'd like to change that, so we've got to get going." Mulder began pushing Scully, ignoring Lisa's over the top giggles at his comment. "You were friends with her?!"

"Acquaintances. Mind explaining to me why you said that?"

"Said what? You're the one who didn't correct her." Mulder pointed out, steering them towards an ice-cream truck. "Come on, I'll buy you one of those Tofutti stale air things you like."

Scully smirked, waiting until he returned to her with a Tofutti cone and a chocolate ice-cream cone before she reached out for the chocolate one. "I guess I have a habit of not correcting people. Enjoy your Tofutti, Mulder."

"Dana Scully! I think I might just be rubbing off on you!"

Mulder would never, ever forget the smile that she gave him then.

* * *

Scully was in her element, telling Mulder everything she knew about the museum and each piece that hung within it. He seemed to be enjoying himself, too, for he was grinning whenever she looked at him, but about an hour after they'd arrived he was beginning to flag, his eyes glazing over.

"Lunch?"

His eyes lit up again, and Scully felt her cheeks grow rosy. "I might even replace that chocolate ice-cream for you, if you're lucky."

…

"If this is your normal, Dana Scully, I want to be normal with you every day for the rest of my life!" Mulder rested his hands over his overfilled stomach, curtesy of Scully buying him a triple scoop ice-cream cone, complete with chocolate flake. "I hope I will be able to manage dinner."

"You will." Scully smiled as she stabbed her fork into the last of her salad.

"What else do normal people do of a Sunday afternoon?" He shut his eyes, resting back in his chair so that the sun hit his face. A nap sounded perfect right now.

Scully stared at him, watching the muscles ripple over his stomach and arms as he moved. He looked truly relaxed for the first time since she'd met him. Relaxed and happy. She had done that.

"Maybe…something like this?"

Mulder's eyes flickered open at the hesitation in her voice and saw that, eyes closed, she was leaning towards him. "Scully.."

She pulled back as though she'd been slapped, and he could already feel her withdrawing from him. Leaning forward, he captured her hands. "I think…if we were normal people, we would have done that a long time ago. But we're not normal, Scully, and I don't think I could handle knowing what it feels like and then not be able to do it again."

Scully licked her lips nervously, blue eyes lifting to hazel again. "How about we settle with having one normal day a week. For now."

Mulder smile reappeared at this, his hands squeezing hers tightly. "I'd be honoured to be normal with you again."

Scully let out a shaking sigh as she smiled. "What do you think a normal person might do now?"

"Probably this." Mulder moved across the space between them to kiss her. It was not a spectacularly passionate or loving kiss, it was just a normal kiss. And it was perfect.

* * *

Scully had worried about what things would be like at work after that Sunday, but really she needn't have. First thing Monday morning Mulder strolled into the room, referred to her as Agent Scully and dropped a load of files on the desk as he went hunting for something he apparently needed desperately.

It was her who broke first, who shattered that invisible barrier she had placed around them. She did manage to wait until lunch time, however.

"Mulder?"

"Scully?" He kept his eyes glued to the file he was flicking through, hoping to jog his memory about something.

"I know I said once a week-"

Her hesitant words made him lift his head to look at her with interest.

"But technically today marks the start of a new week, so perhaps tonight? And maybe…maybe 5 minutes now?"

Mulder was out his chair in a shot, but Scully circumvented his embrace and instead rushed to sit in his chair, crossing her ankles as she rested her feet on his desk. "I'd say this would be the normal place for a woman if such standing as myself, wouldn't you, Agent Mulder?"

"Well played, Agent Scully." He nodded his head in approval, then frowned when she took a large bite of the wrap he'd been eating. "I definitely have been rubbing off on you."

"Occupational hazard, I suppose. It's a very normal thing to happen."

"Normal, you say?" Mulder asked as he took his wrap back and sat on the desk. "We're pretty good at this normal thing, it turns out."

"There was nothing normal about last night, Mulder." Scully's voice lowered just enough to send a shiver up his spine.

"Keep talking like that and we might end up having 7 normal nights a week."

"I look forward to it."

"…Scully, you need to stop this. There can only be one fox Mulder, sleaze-bag, in this relationship."

"Sorry, bud." Scully reached for the wrap and took another bite, eyes sparkling up at her partner.

He just grinned.


	20. Soulmates

After she left her home with Mulder, Scully tried to forget that life. She rented an apartment that was full of light in a busy building, she befriended people at work and went out with them on a Friday night, she tried blonde hair for a while. One night, out with colleagues, she'd even tried taking a man back to her apartment. He seemed kind, intelligent, good looking, everything she used to look for in a man. She had been the one to initiate sex. In her effort to be a new woman, she'd even tried to be vocal about what she wanted, but it had all come to nothing. She couldn't orgasm. In the end, tired and wanting to be alone, she'd faked one just to get him out of the room, agreeing to call him while aware she never would.

That night, she'd tossed and turned unable to sleep. She'd already showered twice when the phone rang, and she knew instantly who it would be. No one else called her so late at night.

Mulder requested they meet for dinner the next night, and in her state of shame Scully agreed just to get him off the phone so he wouldn't notice anything in her voice.

When she met him outside the restaurant the next night, she found herself smiling despite her trepidation. Mulder was wearing one of his suits, and he had even ironed his shirt.

As they walked in and took off their coats, they made small talk in a way they hadn't bothered to in years, but as they sat down, Mulder suddenly began only replying in monosyllables, his eyes dropping repeatedly to the side of her neck. She rubbed it self-consciously, well aware he knew it was a sensitive spot for her, one that he had nipped and kissed so many times.

Hoping to get more from him, Scully had asked why he'd wanted to meet. The shame from the night before was doubled when he'd mumbled that it was his birthday and he hadn't wanted to spend it alone.

Scully tried her hardest after that to bring a smile to his lips, but he remained almost sullen. It wasn't until an hour into the meal when she'd slipped to the bathroom that she realised why. On her neck was a love bite.

Though she rushed from the bathroom, she was only just in time to see Mulder leaving, struggling into his jacket to guard against the wind. Scully quickly grabbed her own jacket and rushed out after him. "Mulder!"

He didn't hear her or chose to ignore her, his head down as he walked against the wind towards his car. Scully had to run to catch up to him. "Mulder!"

He looked anywhere but in her eyes as he replied gruffly. "I put the money for dinner on the table. Thank you for joining me."

"Mulder." Scully grabbed his arm, though she had no idea what she wanted to say. When she saw his eyes flicker to her neck again, words began tumbling from her lips. "I tried to make him you. I tried to make him do what you used to do."

"Scully." Mulder's voice held a warning.

"It didn't work, Mulder. I couldn't come. It wasn't the same. I needed you there with me."

Mulder gave a snort but no other reply as he tried to pull his arm from her grasp.

"I don't know why I did it, but I won't do it again. I promise."

"You don't owe me anything, Dana. Do whatever you want to do." Mulder finally extracted his arm, but he only made it a couple of steps before Scully was stood in front of him again, silently imploring him to look her in the eye.

"I know I have no right to ask this, Mulder. I was trying to forget my life before, but that's not making me any happier, and I don't want to forget anymore. I want you. I need you. I need you to make love to me. I need to _feel."_

Mulder's eyes lifted to hers and they stood in silence for a long time.

That night, Mulder alternated between making love to her and fucking her, his mouth leaving marks all over her body. Scully had three orgasms. She was beginning to think Mulder would last all night when he finally cried out, filling her with his warmth.

They met at least once a week after that. Often there were no words, just the sound of their breathing and Scully's moans. It scared her and excited her all at once. It finally made her feel _something,_ which had been what was lacking for so long.

It was almost five months before it began to change. It started small and then began to grow more significant. A hello, a tender kiss on the cheek, a meal, a present on her birthday, Mulder staying the night rather than leaving as soon as the deed was done.

One year later, they met outside that same restaurant and made small talk as they took off their coats. As they took their seat, Mulder's eyes flicked to Scully's neck and she rubbed it self consciously. She'd been tempted to cover the lovebite with make up, but had decided against it at the last moment, even wearing a lower cut top so there was no chance of people missing the mark.

"Happy Birthday." Scully finally offered with a smile as the waiter scurried away with their order. "You'll be getting your pension card soon."

Mulder smiled, taking a sip of water before he replied, "Who is the one constantly forgetting things again?"

"I'll let you get away with that, but only because it's your birthday." Scully shot back as she pushed a small box across the table.

Mulder frowned as he recognised the box he'd given her the Apollo 11 keyring in. Was she giving it back to him? That would symbolise something he didn't even want to consider.

"Open it." Scully offered, nerves making her voice break.

Mulder glanced up at her and then finally opened the box. Inside was not the keyring, but two bands side by side.

"Yours is on the left."

Mulder pulled out the plain band on the left and turned it over in his fingers curiously. Inside had two dates inscribed.

"I got the keyring melted down to make them." Scully finally offered nervously. "The dates are the first day I met you and William's birthday. My ring has the same engraving."

Mulder remained silent for a long time just turning the ring round and round.

"…I know I made a mistake, Mulder. We both did. But I'm still your Scully and you're still my Mulder, and we will be each others person until the day we die. Beyond that, even, because somehow I believe that we're destined to be together always."

Mulder lifted his eyes to hers, and she finally felt her heart slow when she saw his eyes full of love.

"Mulder, I want…I can't..I don't know if I can go back to how things were because I wasn't happy and neither were you, but things will change and I know eventually we will be together properly again. But I want…I need you to understand what you mean to me, Mulder, and I want you to know that you're it for me. So I want to…I want to ask you to marry me." Scully ended nervously.

"Scully-"

"I don't want you to answer now. I want you to think about it. To feel the weight of a ring on your finger to see if you could bare it."

"I already know what my answer will be, but I will wait if it's what you want."

They didn't speak of it again that evening. It wasn't until 1am the next morning as they made love for the second time that Scully got her answer. Mulder slipped the ring onto her left ring finger and then pressed a kiss on top of it.

Somehow they'd found their way back to one another, and no matter what separated them, they knew now that they'd always find their way back to the other.


	21. Extra Cheese

**A/N: Dear, darling guest reviewer, please leave constructive criticism if you have an issue so that it might be addressed or at least considered. You can't change the world or its view by being vague.**

* * *

Scully's whole body ached. Her mouth was dry, her eyes burned as her eyelids flickered open, and she wondered briefly if she was going to be sick.

"Scully?" A quiet voiced asked, then grew louder as its owner bent over her. "Scully?"

She squinted up at the man above him, wondering where she was. One eye open to stop the room spinning, she looked briefly around. Was she in hospital? "Who are you?"

Mulder's tentative smile faded, panic making his eyes shine in the harsh lights surrounding them. When Scully's face turned into a sudden smile, he rolled his eyes and sat back with a wry smile.

"Finally got you." Scully offered hoarsely, attempting a laugh that came out more as a squeak. "What happened?"

Mulder didn't answer at first, instead reaching for the cup of ice chips beside the bed. He drew one over her lips to moisten them before he allowed her to draw it into her mouth. "You got hurt."

"I figured that much."

Mulder finally let out another smile. "You're very sassy for someone who has just woken up."

"Years of practice working with an exuberant puppy. What happened, Mulder?"

"Car accident." He flinched at the words, still filled with guilt. "We were following Frank Andrews and he managed to shoot out one of our tyres. We hit a Chilli's sign, of all things."

Scully tried to laugh again, this one sounding a little more normal but followed by a groan as the movement made her chest ache. "Did you buy some tacos?"

"I was more concerned about you being unconscious than I was about being hungry, surprisingly. You hit your head, but the doctor's think you'll be fine in a couple of days." Knowing she'd ask for it, Mulder reached out to get her file and handed it to her.

"Were you hurt?" She asked as her eyes skimmed her own results.

"Dislocated shoulder, that's all." Mulder gestured to his sling which Scully hadn't noticed. Did they really get hurt so often these days that she didn't even notice such a thing?

"Did anyone catch him?"

"Skinner called just before to say some agents have Frank holed up in his holiday home, so he's expecting an arrest to be made soon."

Scully nodded, dropping the file to the bed as the room started to spin again, forcing her to clamp her eyes shut. "You should go home and rest your shoulder. That's the third time that one has been injured."

"Yeah, I should." Mulder agreed, though he made no move to leave and instead reached forward to stroke the hair from her face. He was surprised when her eyes flickered open a moment later shining with tears. "Should I get a nurse?"

Scully shook her head, reaching up to take his hand In her own. "Will you stay with me?"

"Get some rest." Mulder smiled down at her, holding her hand until she fell into a light sleep before he continued stroking her hair.

* * *

When Scully woke again the pounding in her head had lessened, but only marginally. Mulder was no longer in the room, but was stood In the doorway watching people go by. "Checking out the nurses?"

Mulder smiled, turning his head to look at her. "You know doctors are more of my thing, Scully. How are you feeling?"

"A little less like my head is going to explode." She busied herself trying to fix her pillows, hoping Mulder wouldn't notice her blush as he re-entered the room.

"They said you can eat something when you wake up." Mulder offered as he leant over her to fix the pillows himself, one had resting gently on her back before he allowed her to rest back against them. "They tried to bring some shrivelled old sandwiches, but I said no one is giving Dana Scully those, I will go and get her something she'll enjoy."

"You ate them, didn't you?"

Mulder gave a guilty smile, causing Scully to roll her eyes though she smiled, too.

"If it's any consolation, I've got the worst reflux of my life."

"Serves you right. You'll get me anything?"

"Anything."

"…I kind of fancy one of Fox Mulder's famous pizzas." Scully offered as she reached for the cup of water that now sat beside her bed.

"…You do know that when I said I made them-"

"You ordered them. I know. Something with extra cheese, please."


	22. Funfair

Scully wasn't entirely sure why she'd come. She'd seen the sign on her drive to the store, and she supposed she was a little nostalgic. When she was a girl, her father used to take her to funfairs all over the state. It was their thing. They would go on all the rides, into the haunted house, and then he would buy her absolutely anything she wanted to eat. When she got tired at the end of the day, he would carry her to the car and tuck her under a blanket for the drive home.

Eyes scanning the scene before her, Scully felt her chest beginning to ache. So many families, and yet she was here all alone. Looking towards the haunted house, she gave a sad smile and then turned back to her car.

Apparently sensing that she didn't want to be interrupted, her cell would ring at that exactly moment. Scully mused that Mulder would probably turn that into an x-file somehow. A cell that possesses the human need to annoy. "Scully."

"Whatcha doin'?"

Scully pulled the phone away from her ear to glance at the screen. "Mulder? Are you drunk?"

He laughed heartily into the receiver. "I wish. I've just left the game half way through because my team had no chance of winning and i couldn't bear to watch them lose _again_. Then I thought to myself 'Who would be able to cheer me up?' and look at that, you've already managed it!"

Scully smiled, resting against the door of her car. "What do you want, Mulder?"

"I wanna know what you're doing."

Scully glanced at her watch. It was a Sunday and still early afternoon. "I'm at a funfair."

"…Seriously?"

"Uh-huh. I'm about to go into the haunted house."

"…You're joking, right?"

Scully held the phone up to the speaker outside the fair, sending a haunted laugh down the phone to her partner.

"…You never fail to surprise me, Dana Scully. Where? I'll come with you."

Scully looked around at all the families and couples again, everyone looking so happy. And then she told Mulder the location.

* * *

Scully laughed, bumping her shoulder into Mulder's arm affectionately. "You're just worried you'll embarrass yourself."

"Scully, you of all people know what a good shot I am. I just didn't think you'd want one of those garish bears." Mulder shrugged, lifting his sunglasses as they strolled into the shade.

Scully was quiet for a moment, remembering the bright green bear her father had won her once on her birthday. Melissa had said it was hideous and the boys had laughed, but Scully had adored that bear. She supposed she'd thrown it out when she was going through that 'I'm too grown-up for toys' phase. Reaching out, she wrapped her hands around Mulder's arm and then slid one down to take his hand, tugging it gently "Pleeease?"

Mulder sighed but was unable to stop the smile that tingled on his lips. "Fine."

* * *

"Except once he brought me a big tub of candy floss instead of just the sort on the stick, and I was throwing up rainbows for an least an hour." Scully laughed, a bright green bear tucked under her arm and a stick of candy floss in her hand. "Mom told him it would rot my teeth, but he still got it every time."

Mulder's face was beginning to hurt. He didn't think he'd smiled so much in his life. "Tell me again about that time in the haunted house when little Scully punched the zombie."

"Later. It's time to go in ourselves." Scully decided, leading them towards the haunted house that, in the twilight, looked much more menacing than it had when she'd arrived.

"Do I need to restrain you, or do you think you can stop yourself hitting anyone today?"

"Well, I think the zombies are safe, but I can't garuantee I wont punch _you_ if you let it get out anything I've told you."

"Who would I tell, anyway." Mulder shrugged, surprised when Scully stopped suddenly in front of him and turned around. Whatever she'd been going to say, she thought better of it and instead threw out the stick in her hand and grabbed his free hand, pulling him into the line for the haunted house.

* * *

"Is now a bad time to mention I'm scared of the dark?" Mulder asked in a stage whisper.

"You are not." Scully laughed, briefly stumbling back into his chest as an evil laugh came from somewhere in the shadows.

"Scared?" Mulder asked softly, earning himself an elbow in the middle.

* * *

"Look!" Scully reached into her pocket with one still sticky hand to pull out her ID, flashing the officer stood before her who only looked about 12. "I'm with the FBI, and this man is my partner." Of course Mulder didn't have his ID on him. Typical.

"That doesn't excuse him hitting that Zombie, Ma'am. You know the rules. The guy made a complaint so I'm going to have to take him in."

Sighing, Scully looked towards a hangdog Mulder, hands currently cuffed together as he waited by the side of the police car. "At least let me ride there with him."

"Can't do that, either. It's-"

"Rules, I know." Scully huffed.

* * *

Three hours later Scully parked back in the deserted funfair car park, Mulder's vehicle now the only one left. "Well, that was the most expensive outing of my life."

"I promise I won't jump bail. And I'll pay you back." Mulder sighed, lifting his head from the headrest. "Though I might have to pay for the hospital bills first."

"Hospital bills?"

"When Skinner finds out about this, that's where he'll send me."

"Why didn't you just tell me you were afraid of the dark before we went in, Mulder? I thought you were joking." Scully reached out to take his bruised hand in her own to check it for any major injury.

"Because you really wanted to go in, Scully, and you were so happy today. I didn't want to ruin it."

"I would have understood. After everything we've been through, I think it's only normal to be a bit scared of the dark." She was satisfied he wasn't hurt, but still kept the hand in her own.

"I know you would have. It's just…you don't talk about your dad that often, or about anything personal very often, and I was enjoying it. I like when you tell me things." Mulder shrugged, still embarrassed about his outburst earlier in the haunted house. He'd screamed like a banshee.

"Mulder-" Scully began, shaking her head. "Why don't we go to dinner?"

Mulder lifted his head, surprised. "Now?"

"Yeah. Now. I fancy a corn dog with extra mustard, and then an ice cream sundae with a cherry on top."

"Dana Scully. And here I was thinking you only ate salad. Today has opened up a whole new woman to me." Mulder grinned, his embarrassment forgotten temporarily, at least.

* * *

When Mulder walked into work on Monday it was with trepidation. He expected Skinner to be stood in his office so annoyed that even the top of his ears would be red. He was in the office, but his ears were a surprisingly normal colour. "Mulder."

Mulder nodded. "Sir."

"Agent Scully has just been explaining to me what happened on the weekend."

"Sir, I-" Mulder was stopped by skinner holding up a hand to silence him.

"I won't add a mark on your file, but stay clear of funfairs in the future, okay?"

Surprised, Mulder watched as his boss left the room without so much as a frown. "…What did you say to him?!"

"Nothing." Scully grinned. "I gave him my candy floss bucket. Turns out he is a big fan."

"….Well, you learn something new every day."

"Don't you just." Scully nodded, smiling.


	23. Beautiful Women

Scully sighed and moved uncomfortably from foot to foot. Her dress was too tight, her shoes were too tight, her hair looked messy and she was sure she'd put too much blusher on. Surrounded by beautiful women, she felt her self-esteem dropping a little more with every moment. Had Mulder been there, she wouldn't have felt so bad she was sure. Even Skinner. Just someone, anyone, to show a bit more interest in her than in everyone else. Why she'd come, she could barely remember. Probably to get out of the house, to be able to wear something nice.

Scully's back straightened and she smiled as another agent came to lean against the bar next to her. He smiled back but then turned away, his smile growing when he saw the bartender approaching. Huffing, Scully walked towards the exit. Surely she'd been here long enough by now?

* * *

Mulder had promised himself that he would stop work on his files by 8, and to make himself stick to it he'd ordered a pizza for delivery then. Part of a promise he'd made to Scully to have other things in his life aside from the x-files that had so consumed him. It was the reason he had turned down the invitation to the annual FBI gathering. Or so he told himself, because actually he never went unless ordered to.

A knock at the door alerted him to the time and with a sigh he shut the file he was currently working on. Tomorrow was a Sunday, so after his morning jog, before his midday basketball game, he could do some more work on it. The basketball game was another part of the promise he made to Scully- get friends. He was good at ticking things off her list, and had congratulated himself with an extra-large pepperoni.

Pulling open the door, his eyebrows shot up and he looked down slowly then up again. "Why Kevin. I've never noticed before how good looking you are."

Smirking, Scully pushed the pizza into his hands and walked into the apartment. "I intercepted him on the way in and paid him. Have you got any ice-cream in the freezer?"

"Looks like you've eaten enough!"

Usually Scully would smile or roll her eyes at such a comment, but today she crossed her arms over her neat but obvious baby bump. "Don't."

Mulder faltered for a moment before he shut the door. "I thought you were at the party."

"You think I want to be in a room full of slim, young, beautiful tall women looking like _this?_ " Scully gestured down to herself.

"I think you look beautiful."

"But you weren't there." Scully shrugged before turning towards the kitchen. "Have you got any ice-cream?" When Mulder gave no reply, she turned to find he was no longer there.

* * *

"Mulder, you hate this sort of thing."

"But I love you."

Scully felt warmth light her cheeks. She still wasn't used to hearing those words, and while she considered them she allowed Mulder, dressed in a tuxedo, to lead her back into the party she had so recently left.

As soon as they were through the doors and a handful of people looked their way, Scully immediately drew her hand back, intending to cross them over her middle again. Mulder caught her hand again, though, holding it more firmly in his left hand as he moved his right arm around her, his hand resting on her bump so his thumb could stroke it. "Drink, dance, food, socialise?" He asked casually as though he was doing nothing out of the ordinary, but Scully felt exposed and for the first time in their time together she shrunk back into his embrace a little.

Instead of replying, Scully motioned to a woman looking eagerly their way. "Tracey was hoping you'd come. I heard her talking in the bathroom about how much she enjoyed dancing with you a few years ago." When Mulder gave no reply, she was sure he was gazing at the statuesque blonde, but when she looked up she found him gazing instead at her own cleavage. Warmth lit her cheeks again and she elbowed him gently in the side. "Mulder?"

"Remind me again why I decided to come here instead of locking you and that dress in my apartment?"

"Because I was feeling bad about myself and you wanted to prove to me that I'm just as beautiful as all these tall, perfectly dressed and made up female agents?" Scully offered, well aware that Mulder's gaze had not been intentional to make her feel better, for she could see the vein in his temple throbbing. It only ever throbbed when he was aroused.

"Scully, I've not even noticed another woman since the second you walked into my office." He replied, leading her towards the dancefloor, straight past a staring Tracey. Scully couldn't stop herself smiling at her.

"We can't dance. I'm too short, I'm too pregnant, I'm too-" Scully stopped as Mulder began moving them to the music. Somehow, despite everything working against them, they fit perfectly together.

"You have always been so sure of yourself, Scully. I don't know where this doubt is coming from. You're easily the most beautiful woman in this room, but you're more than that, too. You're smart, you're strong, you're funny." Mulder spoke softly into her ear, dropping a kiss to her cheek.

Scully buried her face in his collar, shutting her eyes briefly against the tears that threatened. Finally she managed, "Hormones."

Mulder smiled, dropping several kisses to her cheek until he felt Scully giggle quietly against him. "Sculldog, I don't know if you remember, but I was the one to put the thing in you that's making you hormonal, and I'm doing everything I can to show you I'm ready for this. For a relationship, for a family, for a _life._ So whatever these hormones are telling you, don't listen to them. You always have, and always will be the most beautiful woman in any room to me. Being pregnant just makes you even more perfect."

"What about Tracey?"

Mulder laughed softly. "Too tall, too blonde, doesn't look like she's eaten a few too many extra-large pepperoni pizzas."

Scully laughed now, hitting his chest softly before she pulled back to look up at him. "Kiss me."

"In front of people?"

"I am the most beautiful woman in this room, and you are the most handsome man, so I think it's only fair that we give the lesser people a bit of a show. And besides, I think this pepperoni pizza baby belly is a bit of a hint that something happened between us." Scully wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. "So, kiss me."

When Mulder kissed her, the other beautiful women in the room ceased to matter.


	24. Hairdryer

The first time they made love, Mulder cried. Scully had kissed the tears from his warm cheeks and held him to her as tightly as she could, whispering words of love and comfort in his ear.

What followed was a weekend of domesticity. Mulder, the early riser, would make breakfast and bring it to her in bed. The day was spent on the couch alternating between making love, napping, and watching terrible TV shows. In the evening, Scully would make dinner, usually awkwardly as Mulder insisted on standing behind her watching.

On Sunday night it had been Scully's turn to cry, scared that Monday would bring so many changes that she wasn't ready for. Here, she could forget work, and the past and life in general. Here they could live in a bubble. But Monday meant the real world.

When Mulder woke her early that Monday morning to say goodbye, she could see the fear in his eyes, too.

* * *

Heading down to the basement in the lift, Scully stood with a straight, determined back. She was going to walk into their office and kiss Mulder. Not on the lips, she couldn't bring herself to at work, but on the cheek or the hair. Somewhere she had never kissed him as a friend, so he would know she was scared but sure.

Except when she walked into their office, Mulder was nowhere to be found. Neither was most of their things. "What the hell is going on?"

One of the men hunched over in the corner turned to her. "A pipe leaked. We're moving you guys to another office temporarily. Though you might want to go and find your partner first. He wasn't too happy about files being damaged."

Scully knew exactly what Mulder would be like about files being damaged. She still wasn't sure if he'd forgiven her for that time she'd tipped coffee on one three years ago. "Where is he?"

The only reply she was given was a slight shrug. _Thanks for the help_. Where did a pissed off Mulder go?

* * *

Mulder had whistled on his way to work that morning. Nothing could dampen his mood after the weekend he'd had. That's what he thought, at least, until he opened the office door and a gush of water spilled out, soaking him right up to the knees. He'd spoken to maintenance about that damn pipe three times!

Mulder threw the basketball into the net with practiced ease. The only spare clothes he'd had to change into were his workout gear, and he was damned if he was going to sit in whatever stuffy office they'd chosen to move the x-files to and listen to other agents muttering about him under their breath.

"Mulder?"

He turned when he heard his name, a trickle of sweat making its way down his temple. Scully was approaching him hesitantly, her eyes studying his face.

"...There aren't too many files that got damaged. I think we will be able to make copies of them and then just shred the original ones." Scully offered as she finally reached him, standing an exact arm's length apart.

Mulder let out a huff, lifting the bottom of his t-shirt to wipe away the sweat that had accumulated on his forehead. "I've warned them about that pipe."

"I know." Scully was still studying his face intently. He didn't understand what for until she added, "The maintenance guy said you were pissed off."

Mulder let out another huff, this one with a hint of amusement behind it. "Not about the files."

"Then about what?" Scully folded her arms as though protecting herself.

"…I just thought maybe you'd take it as a sign." Mulder gave a small shrug, toying with the bottom of his t-shirt. They'd agreed not to talk about this at work.

"A sign of what?"

"That we aren't meant to be together. That things will go wrong if we stay…as whatever we are now."

"..But you're not upset about the files?"

"The gunmen have copies of everything. I started giving them files when we started noticing things going missing."

"…Then why the HELL have I just spent half an hour pointing a fucking hairdryer at them?!" Scully suddenly yelled in annoyance. The other occupant of the gym looked up and then scurried into the locker room.

"You didn't take it as a sign, then?" A hint of amusement now laced Mulder's voice and he inched closer to Scully.

"Oh yeah, it's a sign. It's a sign that I am officially crazy. Mulder, I just spent half an hour with a hair dryer on your files because I thought you were upset they'd been ruined! I had so many plans for this morning and this is not how it was all supposed to go! I was supposed to walk into the office in your favourite shirt and give you a kiss on the cheek, and you were supposed to know that that meant I didn't regret the weekend, and then I was going to leave the brochure for that Italian place on your desk as a hint that you should ask me on a date there!"

Mulder was openly chuckling now. "You had it all planned out, even my responses?"

"I was even going to bring you coffee, but then I decided not to because that way you'd offer to go and get it and I could leave you a bag of sunflower seeds on your desk because you've stopped eating them after I yelled at you the other week, but I only yelled at you because I was frustrated with myself, not with you! And you were supposed to see them and then walk over and kiss me, and I'd have to remind you of our agreement not to kiss at work, then you'd sulk and I would pretend not to notice, but-"

"You've even planned out our arguments?" Mulder was almost wheezing now in his attempt not to laugh loudly as Scully ranted.

Scully finally deflated a little. "It's not funny."

"Scully, you can't control everything."

"I know." She replied softly.

Mulder let out a slow breath, studying her face. "…You've got my favourite shirt on."

Scully's lips twitched.

"But I wonder if you're regretting this past weekend. If only there was a way for you to show me that you didn't."

Smiling now, Scully leant forward and dropped a tender kiss to Mulder's cheek.

"You know what that kiss tells me, Agent Scully? It tells me I should ask you somewhere for dinner tonight. Only, I can't think of anywhere at all, my mind has gone completely blank."

Scully giggled. Actually giggled. Like a school girl. "There's a new Italian place not far from here that I think looks amazing."

"Would you like to go on a date with me to the new Italian place tonight, Scully?"

"Yes."

"..How about I go and get changed and then get us some coffees? I'll meet you in the temporary office. My desk is the one that's already scattered with files, in case you need to leave anything there."

Though Mulder turned on his heel, Scully caught his arm and turned him back, studying his face again as she'd done when she'd first come in. "..I'm scared, Mulder."

"I know. So am I."

Scully nodded, resting her hand briefly over his heart before she stepped away.

"Scully?"

"Mm?"

"Thanks for using a hairdryer on the files."

"I'd hairdry a file for you any day, Agent Mulder."

They shared a brief smile before they parted ways.


	25. Birthday

Scully couldn't understand it. There were some cases that got to Mulder, but usually she could see those coming and there was nothing in this case that indicated he might become obsessive. And yet he had barely slept. He'd been working every hour of the day, his temper was short, and she hadn't seen him eat or drink anything other than coffee.

She'd tried to entice him with food, with a warm place to lay, placating him when he snapped, but to no avail. He hadn't even shaved since they arrived.

Scully had had high hopes of this case when it had arrived on their desk- it looked to be open and shut, and it was near enough to her brother's house that she'd be able to see her nieces and nephews. And, though she had refused to actively think of it, the following weekend was her birthday, and she so rarely got to spend that with family.

"Agent Scully?"

She lifted her head from the file she'd been frowning at to find a lanky boy in the doorway, surely too young to be in a police uniform. "Yes?"

"Agent Mulder has caught the suspect and is bringing him in."

Scully stared at him dumbly. Agent Mulder couldn't have caught the suspect. He'd told her he was going back to the motel to shower.

* * *

"How did you find him, Agent?" The officer in charge of the case cornered Agent Mulder as soon as the suspect was removed from his grasp.

"It was a hunch." Was all Mulder muttered, brushing the dirt from his sleeve.

"And you didn't think to call backup? He's killed 5 people!"

"There wasn't time." Mulder's eyes scanned the bullpen. He knew Scully would be furious with him for going off without her. Worse, even, because he'd lied about where he was going.

"You're telling me you drove for half an hour out of town and didn't have _time_ to call it in?!" The officer barked at him.

He could see Scully now, approaching at a fast pace, but her face wasn't angry. Worse, it was upset.

"I didn't want to get you all out there if it was going to be nothing." Mulder attempted.

"Are you hurt?" Scully asked as she came to a stop in front of him, eyes scanning his body for an injury.

"It's protocol to call in back up!" The officer snapped, ignoring Scully's presence. He was as shocked as Mulder when she was the one to snap back at him.

"You expect him to call you for backup when you've spent the last four days making it entirely clear what you think of Mulder and his theories? You should be thankful he's caught the guy for you, since you've all been so caught up on a half-baked theory about gang violence! Are you hurt, Mulder?" The last question came out as snapped as the first.

"No."

Scully nodded her head, and nothing else was forthcoming from anyone as she walked out the building front doors.

* * *

Tara's smile fell when Scully opened the motel room door with tears on her cheeks. "What's happened?!"

Scully attempted a reply around her sobs, embarrassed to be found in such a state. She'd left the police station both hurt and furious that Mulder had gone off alone. He'd promised her he wouldn't do that anymore. He'd promised not only as her partner, but as her lover. He'd promised that if she allowed herself to fall, to break open for him, that he wouldn't do this anymore.

"Auntie Dana?"

Her eyes fell down and she realised her niece and nephew were stood looking up at her with concern. A flick of her eyes told her Bill was there as well, approaching at full speed from the car now he'd seen her face.

"What did he do?"

"Bill-" Tara tried to soothe, putting a hand to his chest.

"What the hell has he done now?!"

Her brother's anger dried Scully's eyes, and she lifted her sleeve to wipe away the tears that still lingered. "What are you doing here?" Her voice still wobbled, though.

"We've come to pick you up." Tara offered.

"Pick me up?" Scully frowned, eyes turning to her brother who had suddenly gone quiet. "Bill?"

"..We wanted you to come and spend the weekend with us for your birthday." He offered.

"You didn't ask her?" Tara questioned.

"How did you know the case was over?"

"We didn't." Tara's eyes remained on Bill who continued to stare at the ground.

"…I spoke to _Agent_ Mulder earlier in the week, and he assured me the case would be over before your birthday."

Scully could imagine how that conversation had gone. Suddenly Mulder's behaviour began to make a little more sense to her. She opened her mouth but instantly snapped it shut when she remembered there were young children watching. Sensing this, Tara mumbled something about a milkshake and turned the children in the direction of the diner next door.

"Dana, I just wanted to spend time with you…"

"Oh, I can just imagine how you told Mulder that, Bill. I bet you mentioned every time I'd been hurt in the past, told him it was his fault, and then _told_ him he had to finish the case by today. Do you have ANY idea how stupid that was?! You could have got him killed! You could have got me killed if I'd followed him! You know how seriously he takes his work, Bill, and you know how guilty he feels about the past!" Scully ran her hand through her hair and then turned to re-enter her room, trying to remember where the hell she'd thrown her phone.

"He's no good for you, Scully. I wanted-"

"Oh, do not start that now." Scully shot back, her voice dripping with venom as she held the phone to her ear. Straight to voicemail. "You know what? Thank you for the invitation, but I don't want to spend my birthday in your company. In fact, I don't want to spend any day in your company until you get it through your thick skull that this is it for me! This is my life. Mulder is my life! If you can't accept him, then you can't accept me." She grabbed her keys and her jacket, storming past her brother.

"Scully-"

"Apologise to Tara and the kids for me." Was all she offered as she climbed into the car, her shaking hands gripping the steering wheel.

* * *

Mulder sat at the desk he'd been given with his head in his hands. He ached with tiredness and overused muscles, but the sooner he completed this paperwork, the sooner he could get home and forget this case had ever happened.

He'd convinced himself somehow that if he completed this case today, in time for Scully to spend her birthday with family, that Bill might soften towards him. He's been thinking a lot lately about asking Scully to marry him, but the thought of Bill's objection, the thought of him telling the whole congregation about all the times he'd let Scully down, had given him nightmares. He feared laying his head on the pillow in case he dreamt of Scully's face dawning with realisation before she walked down the aisle away from him.

She'd probably be at her brother's house now, where she belonged. With people who could keep her safe.

"Mulder."

Except she wasn't. She was here, stood in front of him with an indistinguishable expression on her face. Mulder's eyes fell to his lap.

"Mulder." Scully repeated, stepping closer, one finger touching his chin to tilt his head up, though he immediately shut his eyes so he didn't have to see hers.

There was a shuffle of papers, and he knew she'd sat on the desk in front of him. Her finger still danced under his chin, stroking the stubble there. Mulder felt suddenly overwhelmed with tiredness.

"Mulder, you did the wrong thing."

He nodded. It was all he could do. He had done the wrong thing.

"I know…I know you agree with Bill. I know you think that everything bad has been your fault, and I know I can't change your mind because I've tried. But Mulder, even if, in some parallel universe, it was all your fault…I wouldn't care. I love you. You can push me away all you like, you can listen to my brother and beat yourself up, but I'm still going to love you. I'm still going to follow you, I'm still going to get angry with you, I'm still going to worry about you, I'm still going to need you, Mulder." Scully sighed, finally drawing her hand away from him as she stood. "I'll finish the report, you go back to the motel and sleep. Our flight is in a few hours, so I will pick you up once I'm done and we'll go to the airport."

"Our flight?" Mulder asked with a frown, his eyes finally flickering open. "But your birthday-"

"I wanted to spend my birthday with people I love. I wanted to spend it with you."

"But-"

Scully's voice was suddenly tired. "Look, you and Bill both need to understand that I love you, I love my job, and neither of those things are going to change, so you're both going to have to live with it."

Mulder nodded his head mutely, pushing himself wearily to his feet. "Scully, I didn't…I really didn't know if he was going to be there. It really was a hunch."

Scully nodded, slipping into the seat he'd vacated.

"..Scully?"

"What, Mulder?"

"Go to your party. I know you're upset with Bill, but he's your brother, and we both know how important family are, even when we're angry with them."

* * *

When Tara opened the door she was relieved to see Scully stood before her in casual clothes, the tears that had covered her face cleared away. "I didn't know."

"It's okay." Scully smiled. "I know. I know what my brother can be like. Is there still cake?"

"Lots of it." Tara stepped aside to let her sister-in-law walk in, surprised to see a rather hangdog Fox Mulder follow her, Scully holding his hand tightly. "Fox."

"Mulder." Mulder corrected more from habit than anything else.

"Do you mind making us some coffee?" Scully asked. "If I'm going to have to be nice to Bill, I'm going to need stimulants."

Smiling, Tara shut the front door and ushered them inside. "He's out the back grilling. There are a few people out there already. Three guys showed up claiming to be friends of yours, so I let them through but I've no idea who they are."

"The three stooges." Mulder supplied.

"They're eccentric but harmless stalkers." Scully offered, tugging Mulder towards the backdoor.

* * *

Five hours later and Scully wasn't quite sure how they'd managed it, but Mulder and Bill had been entirely civil to one another, at least in front of her. Mulder was now fast asleep sitting up on the couch with her niece drawing a felt tip moustache on him, a plate of half eaten cake held vicariously on his lap.

Bill was in a similar position in the armchair, his son giving him multicolour spots all over his nose.

"Do you think we should stop them?" Scully asked.

"Nah." Tara replied. "they probably both deserve it."

"Do you think they'll ever get along?"

"…Probably not. It'll make Christmases interesting, though."

Scully smiled at the thought of Mulder spending Christmas with them. "Yeah, it will."

"Happy early birthday, Dana."

"Do me a favour and tell me if Bill is planning any more surprises."

"As long as you do me a favour and send me a photo of Mulder in those red speedos you told me about."

As Scully choked on a laugh, as Tara grinned and as the children stepped back to look at their handiwork, Scully realised Mulder had been right. Family were important. And he was part of their family now, whether Bill liked it or not.

* * *

"Scully."

"Hmm?"

Mulder walked carefully through the darkened room towards the bed. Bill had begrudgingly offered for them to stay the night so long as they stayed in different rooms. "It's midnight."

"Mulder, 'm sleeping."

"It's your birthday."

"it'll be my birthday for the next 24 hours. Go to bed."

Without another word, Mulder slipped into bed beside her, wrapping her in his arms. Scully considered a protest, but she was too warm and sleepy and simply rubbed her cheek against his chest as she got comfortable.

"Scully?"

"Mm?"

"Do you think one day you'll marry me?"

"…I hope so."

Mulder dropped a kiss to her hair.

"Do you think Bill will object?"

"We'll ask the celebrant not to read that bit."

Mulder dropped another kiss to her hair, a smile on his lips.

"Mulder?"

"Mm?"

A firm punch on his arm came next. "Don't ever to shut me out again or I will rip your testicles off."

Mulder let out a huff off a laugh into the darkness. "Scully?"

"Mmm?"

"I love you."

"Love you too. Fox Mulder, asshole extraordinaire."

"…Scully?"

"What?"

"Do you think Bill would kill me if I had sex with his sister in his house?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Goodnight, Scully."

"…Mulder?"

"Mmm?"

"Sorry I hit you."

"It's okay."

"…Mulder?"

"Mmm?"

"Did you bring your gun to bed?"

"It's been 5 days, 3 hours and 2 minutes since we've made love, Scully. I'm a weak man."

"…Go on, then, but be quiet!"


	26. Sick Day

Well, they'd admitted their feelings for one another. That was about as far as it had gone. Their usual teasing was perhaps a little more daring, their touches a little more lingering, their gazes a little surer. But now she'd decided to jump down the rabbit hole she wanted more. Mulder was clearly still hesitant, not of his feelings but of her response, and she understood why- she just prayed he would take the first step, because every time she tried, she managed to talk herself out of it.

"Agent Scully."

Scully's head shot up, her thoughts interrupted, to find A.D. Skinner looking down at her curiously. "Ah…sorry. Looking for…an earring." She had sat on the floor to gather up the scrunched paper Mulder had thrown there but had found herself fascinated by what was on them. Sketches of her.

Skinner raised his eyebrows. "Agent Mulder has called in sick."

'Very funny, sir." Scully smirked and reached forward to pick up another screwed up piece of paper.

"I'm serious. I want you to go and check on him."

Scully opened her mouth to say that there was probably a game on he'd been eager not to miss, but then he would have called her, surely. This brought a frown to her forehead.

* * *

Mulder grumbled as he stood up, wondering why the room had chosen that exact moment to start spinning. Had he ordered pizza? He hoped so.

Scully jumped when Mulder pulled open the door and almost fell on her. "Mulder?"

"SCULLY! Hey! How are ya?"

Eyebrows raised, Scully reached up to touch his forehead. It was warm. His eyes were blood shot, his nose was red and his voice sounded slightly muffled. A case of the common cold, probably. "Have you taken anything for your fever?" She was already stepping inside and shutting the door.

"Yes!" Mulder replied defensively. "That cough syrup you got me that time."

"Mulder! That was at least 6 years ago, and even then it was almost out of date!" Scully picked up the empty bottle he gestured to before he slumped back on the couch.

"I know. Which is why I had more!"

"It gets stronger the longer you leave it, not weaker." Scully had to bite her lip to stop herself smiling. Mulder was as high as a kite. "Have you had anything to eat?"

"You're wearing my favourite shirt. I love that shirt. When I touch you when you wear it, you feel all warm and alive and perfect." Mulder shut his eyes and smiled at the thought.

Scully let out a shaking breath and turned away to hide her blush. "I assume that means no. I'll make you something."

"I'll stay here until the room decides to stop moving." Mulder called, followed by a bout of coughing.

Quickly coming back with a glass of water for him, Scully studied his face with a frown. "…Mulder, why didn't you call me? You called Skinner but not me. You always call me."

Mulder gulped down the water then grimaced as his stomach swam a little. "Because if I'd called you, you would have asked if I wanted you to come over." He offered as though it was obvious.

He didn't want her to come over? _He was afraid to admit he wanted her to come over._ They were really a mess. "Mulder-"

He looked up at her, his eyes not quite focused, his face pale except for the redness of his nose and cheeks.

Scully swallowed. "You haven't got any food. I'll go out and get something."

"I'll come with you." Mulder stood up, then abruptly grabbed onto the arm of the couch. "In a minute."

"Sit down, Mulder." Scully moved to him again, grabbing his biceps to try and force him to sit, but whatever strength he had he used to resist her.

"But I need some things from the store." He protested.

"Then write them down and I will get them for you." Scully urged. "Sit down, Mulder. You're sick."

"You're beautiful."

Scully shut her eyes for the briefest of moments as Mulder finally sunk into the couch. "I won't be gone long. Stay there."

* * *

He didn't, of course. By the time Scully returned less than twenty minutes later, Mulder was nowhere to be seen. Setting down the groceries, Scully called out to him hesitantly.

"In the bath." Mulder called out hoarsely. "Want to join me?"

Dear god. Mulder high on cough syrup seemed to have no filter, and Scully wasn't sure how long she could last in the apartment with him. "I'll make you something to eat for when you've finished." Scully called out.

In the bathroom, ears blocked, he strained to hear her. "Scully?"

"I said I'm making you something to eat!" She called louder, waiting to hear his response.

"Scully?" It was much closer this time. Scully almost hit the ceiling when she realised he was now stood in the kitchen doorway, dripping wet and completely naked. Her eyes sunk low before she could stop herself.

"I said I'm making you something to eat." She managed to force out. "Go and dry yourself and get dressed."

"I'm too hot." Mulder whined.

Huffing, trying to keep it professional and definitely not looking below his waist again, Scully stepped forward with the thermometer she'd picked up at the store, indicating for him to open his mouth. He obliged, shutting his eyes and swaying from the momentum in his head. Scully let out another shaky sigh and quickly went to the bathroom to grab a towel, pressing it into his hands.

Mulder's eyes flickered open, looking dazed still, when the thermometer beeped. "Why am I all wet?"

"You've been in the bath." Scully pulled out the thermometer, frowning at it. His temperature was still high despite what he'd taken, but she was reluctantly to give him anything else until the effects had worn off. "Go and dry yourself off and get dressed." She repeated. When Mulder just stood there looking blankly at her and suddenly a bit green around the gills, Scully huffed and grabbed the towel, beginning to dry him herself, rubbing his chest vigorously and hoping his bottom half would dry by itself.

"Scully." Mulder offered suddenly with a groan.

Sure he was going to be sick, Scully stepped back and grabbed the bowl she'd been intending to prep the soup in. Mulder took it blindly, but instead of vomiting, he placed it covering up a part of his body, his eyes suddenly a lot more focused. It took Scully's moment a mind to catch up. He was covering up an…oh god. "I should go. I've brought all the things for a chicken soup, I'm sure you know how to make it."

"Not really." Mulder cleared his throat. "I just umm…I might go b-back to my bath."

"Okay." Scully nodded. In other circumstances, though she couldn't name them, it would have been funny to see Mulder scuttle from the room with a sickly green bowl from the 70s covering his privates. He's sick, she reasoned. He's got a high fever, he doesn't know what he's doing, she told herself.

"Scully?" Mulder suddenly reappeared, thankfully wrapped in a towel this time, though it did little to hide the state he was still in. The state that sent warmth to several places on Dana Scully's body.

"Yeah?" She managed, pleased her voice sounded normal.

"I umm… I didn't call you to tell you I wasn't feeling that great because I didn't want you to feel obliged to come over. I'll be okay if you need to get back to work."

Scully surprised both herself and Mulder by answering with an immediate tease. "So says the man who downed half a bottle of expired cough syrup. Bath, Mulder. It will help bring your temperature down."

Mulder nodded his head, turning away.

"And Mulder? You should draw more often. You're really good."

Mulder paused, and though he didn't turn to her she knew he was smiling. "It helps having something beautiful to draw."

* * *

Mulder wondered if this was what heaven would feel like. He was warm under a thick blanket and a cool, gentle hand was stroking his forehead. A happy hum left his throat.

Scully's hand stilled when Mulder made a noise, wondering if she'd woken him. Sitting beside his head, with his soft hair and smooth skin, she'd been unable to stop herself touching him. Satisfied he hadn't woken, Scully began moving her hand again. Rarely did she get to see her partner so relaxed, and it made her heart happy.

His fever seemed to have dropped after she'd woken him to give him a dose of paracetamol, and now he'd been sleeping peacefully for the last two hours. Scully had chosen one of the books from his limited non-alien related material and had intended to read it, but once she was sat beside Mulder in bed she just found herself gazing at him. Why were they putting it all off? What difference would it make now? No one else would want to be partnered with either of them, and they couldn't be fired for being in a relationship, so the only choice was to keep them together. They'd been practically married in every sense but sex for a long time, and she wondered if actually taking the next step might make things better rather than ruin them.

"Scully?" Came a sudden croak. Mulder was struck momentarily silent by the look of unguarded love he saw in his partners face as she looked down at him.

"How are you feeling?" Scully's hand stopped moving but stayed resting in his hair. When she received no reply, a frown darkened her face. "Mulder? Are you going to be sick?"

He shook his head adamantly.

"…Are you going to get another erection?"

Mulder let out a surprised huff of a laugh. "Don't think so."

Scully's hand began moving again, stroking back his hair. "Do you need me to get you anything?"

"Water?"

Scully nodded, finally moving away to grab the bottle resting on his bedside table. "Electrolyte water. And I've cleaned out anything out of date from your bathroom."

"Was kinda fun though. I thought I saw a unicorn while I was in the bath."

Scully gave a soft laugh as she settled down on the bed again. "Sometimes I think it makes more sense for us to live together so that we're not spending all our time apart worrying about one another."

"You don't fool me, Sculldog. You want to move in with me, don't you? You want Mulder access 24/7." Mulder attempted to tease, though the point was ruined by the fact his nose was beginning to drip.

Scully silently held out a tissue. "I am definitely not moving in here. It's a quintessential bachelor pad. No, it would have to be somewhere that was new for both of us. Somewhere with room for a dog."

"We're not getting another yappy dog."

"What about we compromise." Scully lay down, turning in her side to face Mulder.

"What's the compromise?" Mulder asked, wearing the same dopey smile he'd had when he answered the door that morning.

"We get another yappy dog."

"You drive a hard bargain, Agent Scully. But don't think you're going to get your way every time."

Scully smiled back, but it soon faded, her eyes dropping to look at his chest. "When?"

"One day. One day soon."

Nodding, Scully inched forward and buried her face into his chest.

"…Scully?"

"Mmm?"

"Might be getting that erection now."

Scully gave a full belly laugh, pushing him onto his back again as she climbed from the bed. "Since you're feeling better, I'll warm you up some more soup."

"You'll make a good little wife!" Mulder called out after her.

"Shut it, Mulder, or no sex for a month."

"We're not having sex!" he protested.

"I'm practicing getting my own way more often!"

Grinning, Mulder lay on his back and stared at the ceiling. He should take the day off more often.


	27. In the Darkness

Scully's mind screamed to her, pleaded with her, and yet she couldn't do it. For so long she had clamped down her feelings, kept such a tight lid on them that even now, when she felt so desperate, she couldn't allow herself to break.

Rolling onto her side, she drew her knees up to her body and buried her face in the musty motel pillow, silently crying out into it, hot tears that refused to fall beginning to burn in her eyes. This feeling, this need, was agony, and comfort was so close by and yet so far away.

Another anguished cry left her lips, so quiet and so muffled by the pillow, and yet so loud she could hear it reverberate around the tiny room. At once she heard shifting in the room next to hers, yet at the same time could hear nothing at all but the screaming in her head.

"Scully?"

Was he in the room now, or was she imagining his voice? She hadn't the energy to even turn her head to check, to reach out an arm, to speak of her need for comfort, for care.

"Scully?"

Closer this time, concerned. She willed the words that pierced her brain to fall from her lips, and yet they stayed hidden. They stayed hidden like so many words and feelings and moments had stayed hidden. Why couldn't she let them out? What might happen if she did?

A hand suddenly rested on her shoulder, removed quickly as though her skin burnt when another cry left her lips. It was too much and yet not enough. She wondered if he might move away and leave her, or move into her line of sight. The thought made her shut her eyes even tighter, sure the sight of his creased forehead would irrevocably break her.

Somehow he seemed to hear this cry, too. He seemed to sense something that she so desperately grasped for, and instead the bed dipped suddenly and the warmth of his body pressed to her back, his strong arms wrapped around her so tightly it was hard to breathe and yet suddenly she could draw in the shattering air around her, pull it into her lungs and finally release a fraction of the feeling held within her.

As the cry left her lips and broke the delicate silence around them once more, his face buried in the spot between her jaw and her shoulder and his words reverberated through her bones. She couldn't hear him as her hot tears fell and the sobs began to wrack her body, but she could feel the warmth of his breath, the bob of his adams apple, the tickle of his lips.

"Mulder!" Finally she managed to speak, the word barely recognisable.

"I know." Was all she was offered in return, but it was enough. Two words that spoke verses.

They wouldn't speak of this in the morning. They would wake, shower separately and get on with work. They would never acknowledge these moments when the world finally became too much. In the light of day, it felt too open, too bright and too full of life to mention the darkness in which they saved one another.


End file.
